Bussokusekika
Encyclopedia
, also known as Bussokuseki no Uta, are poems inscribed beside the stone Buddha Foot monument at Yakushi Temple
in Nara
.
Numbering twenty one poems in total, they are divided into two sections:
Part of the stone monument has worn away making the eleventh poem of the first section and the fourth poem of the second section partially unreadable.
The Buddha Foot monument at Yakushi Temple was constructed in 753
and the poems are viewed as being composed around that time. The author is unknown.
The poems are written in Man'yōgana, a precursor to kana
where Chinese characters are used for their phonetic value, and in Bussokuseki-style. Named after the poems, Bussokuseki-style is an archaic poetic device in which lines are written in a 5-7-5-7-7-7 mora pattern. It is seen during the Nara period
but greatly diminishes by the Heian period
. It is an early form of waka
.
Yakushi-ji
is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, located in Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism...
in Nara
Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
.
Numbering twenty one poems in total, they are divided into two sections:
- Seventeen poems praising the virtue of Buddha.
- Four poems warn against the impermanence of life and preach the Buddhist path.
Part of the stone monument has worn away making the eleventh poem of the first section and the fourth poem of the second section partially unreadable.
The Buddha Foot monument at Yakushi Temple was constructed in 753
753
Year 753 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 753 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Samarkand is conquered by Arabs.* The town of...
and the poems are viewed as being composed around that time. The author is unknown.
The poems are written in Man'yōgana, a precursor to kana
Kana
Kana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
where Chinese characters are used for their phonetic value, and in Bussokuseki-style. Named after the poems, Bussokuseki-style is an archaic poetic device in which lines are written in a 5-7-5-7-7-7 mora pattern. It is seen during the Nara period
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...
but greatly diminishes by the Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
. It is an early form of waka
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
.
External links
- Manuscript scan (1752) at Waseda University LibraryWaseda University LibraryThe library of Waseda University is one of the largest libraries in Japan. It was established in 1882, and currently holds some 4.5 million volumes and 46,000 serials.-History:...