996 regan murphy
has left Buddhism out of the picture. The history of the study of San-
skrit during this period provides one avenue for filling in this gap.
However, Sanskrit study during this period of Japanese history cannot
be adequately approached without a strong understanding of ritual as
found in esoteric Buddhism, nor can it be separated from the more
general renaissance in the intellectual sphere. Both of these areas—the
transformation of ritual in early modern Japan and the contribution
of Buddhist language theories to the early modern study of Japanese
linguistics—are inviting fields for future research.