Shin'yaku Kegonkyo Ongi Shiki
Encyclopedia
The is a Japanese
annotation of the Avatamsaka Sūtra
. Dated to 794, it is the oldest Japanese ongi, or collection of difficult to interpret words showing their pronunciation and meaning, and is a National Treasure of Japan
.
. It is an annotation of the 80-volume Avatamsaka Sūtra. As the original was written in Chinese, the annotation contains a list of words and expressions from the original and glosses them with Japanese readings and meanings. The orthography of the Japanese suggests that it is a late Nara period
text. However, the manuscript contains a number of errors and is judged to be a copy of an earlier original. There is only one known existing manuscript.
linguistics. The Japanese annotations are written in Man'yōgana and, with the exception of /to1, to2/, distinguishes between Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai
. It contains a total of 162 Japanese words, many of which are the oldest extant citations. In addition, it also contains the oldest example of a long vowel as well as a number of Japanese-specific readings (慣用音) to kanji
.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
annotation of the Avatamsaka Sūtra
Avatamsaka Sutra
The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....
. Dated to 794, it is the oldest Japanese ongi, or collection of difficult to interpret words showing their pronunciation and meaning, and is a National Treasure of Japan
National treasures of Japan
National Treasures are the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs...
.
Background
The text is two fascicles in length. The compiler is unknown but is presumed to have related to Tōdai-jiTodai-ji
, is a Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall , the largest wooden building in the world, houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese simply as Daibutsu . The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the ...
. It is an annotation of the 80-volume Avatamsaka Sūtra. As the original was written in Chinese, the annotation contains a list of words and expressions from the original and glosses them with Japanese readings and meanings. The orthography of the Japanese suggests that it is a late 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...
text. However, the manuscript contains a number of errors and is judged to be a copy of an earlier original. There is only one known existing manuscript.
Linguistics
The text is viewed as a valuable reference for Old JapaneseOld Japanese
is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language.This stage in the development of Japanese is still actively studied and debated, and key Old Japanese texts, such as the Man'yōshū, remain obscure in places.-Dating:...
linguistics. The Japanese annotations are written in Man'yōgana and, with the exception of /to1, to2/, distinguishes between Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai
Jodai Tokushu Kanazukai
is an archaic kanazukai used to write Japanese during the Nara period. Its primary feature is to distinguish between two groups of syllables as discussed below that later merged together.-Syllables:Following are the syllabic distinctions made in Old Japanese....
. It contains a total of 162 Japanese words, many of which are the oldest extant citations. In addition, it also contains the oldest example of a long vowel as well as a number of Japanese-specific readings (慣用音) to kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
.