Buddhism under the Ritsuryō System in Japan: A Study of the “Monks and Nuns Decree”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/jwbyh303Keywords:
Japan, Ritsuryō system, national Buddhism, Monks and Nuns Decree.Abstract
From the 7th to the 10th century, Japan was in the Ritsuryō system. As a significant method for building a Ritsuryō state, Buddhism assumed an important part in governmental politics and diplomacy, and its interaction with the state was bidirectional dynamic. The Ritsuryō state attached great importance to utilizing Buddhism to maintain its regime and safeguard the country. Simultaneously, by establishing management policies in legal through the “Monks and Nuns Decree”, the state attempted to practice comprehensive and strict control over monks, nuns and temples. This paper endeavours to take the “Monks and Nuns Decree” as an entry point, mainly adopting the method of documentary analysis, to reveal the characteristics of Buddhism during the Ritsuryō system in Japan from a micro-level perspective. It further explores how the “Monks and Nuns Decree” as a legalized religious management has impacted and reconstructed the relationship between Buddhism and the state during the Ritsuryō period, and thus to discuss the attributes of the state’s control over the Buddhism during Ritsuryō system in Japan.
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