62. ESOTERIC BUDDHISM, MATERIAL CULTURE, AND
CATALOGUES IN EAST ASIA
Ian AstleyThis contribution examines a representative selection of East Asian
Buddhist catalogues, taking the formative phase of esoteric Buddhism
in Japan as its fulcrum and with a view to establishing what informa-
tion they can furnish about the adoption of this new and distinctive
form of Buddhism, which came to be integrated into the prevalent
ritsuryō system of early Heian Japan.^1 This phase is crucial for our
understanding of the early development of the Shingon and Tendai
traditions, which in turn are central to a full understanding of Japa-
nese religion and politics and the attendant material culture. A promi-
nent source for understanding this complex is the Jō shin shōrai kyōtō
mokurokuhyō by Kūkai (774–835).^2 The most
recent modern edition of Kūkai’s complete works begins with the Cat-
alogue, even though it is not his first composition.^3 We may take this
as an indication of how crucial this relatively unexciting piece is for the
contemporary Shingon tradition: though not the beginning of Kūkai’s
writing career, it represents the point in Japanese religio-political
(^1) Modern Japanese scholarship on ritsuryō Japan is extensive. There is a useful Eng-
lish summary by the doyen of the field, Inoue Mitsusada 1977; and 2001. Also very
useful, not least for its reference to Chinese antecedents, is Miller 1971. However, Abé
1999 is the most authoritative study of the ritsuryō system in English. Other useful
works in Japanese include Futaba 1962 and two extensive collections: Asaeda Zenshō,
ed. 1994 and Yoshikawa and Ōsumi, ed. 2002. 2
More generally known as the [Go-]Shōrai mokuroku [ ] (inclusion
of the honorific is dictated by sectarian sentiment). Either this form or the English
Catalogue will be used here. Y. S. Hakeda 1972a translated this work as A Memorial
Presenting a List of Newly Imported Sūtras and Other Items. Hakeda’s work presents
an abbreviated English translation (i.e., the listings of the imported items are omit-
ted) but it has useful notes. Also of interest is the fact that copies of this and other
mokuroku, e.g., the manuscript by Saichō (767–822) now held at Tōji in Kyoto or the
one by Enchin (814–891), are now classed by the Japanese government as kokuhō
(National Treasures).
(^3) For the purposes of this discussion I have used the latest, Teihon (definitive)
edition of Kūkai’s complete works, Mikkyō Bunka Kenjyūjo 1991–1997; the Shōrai
mokuroku is in vol. 1. The most readily available edition of the original text (composed
in 806) is included in T. 2161.55:1060–1066. Indeed, volume 55 of the Taishō shinshū
daizōkyō contains all the important catalogues for our purposes.