Digital Book "Production Notes for 'The Lost Authentic Works of the Calligraphy Sage'" (2)
Chapter 2: The Golden Age of Tenpyo Culture
In the mid-8th century, Japan experienced an unprecedented cultural flowering centered around the capital of Heijo-kyo in Nara.
Posterity calls this era the "Tenpyo Culture." This culture, which combined luxurious artifacts with profound spirituality, was brought about by active exchange with the Tang Dynasty.
Looking back at the international situation of the time, one can understand its uniqueness. The Tang Dynasty (618–907) was a superpower in East Asia and the center of politics, economy, and culture. While many neighboring countries paid tribute to Tang, Japan did not simply submit; it sent its own ambassadors to learn directly and bring knowledge back. These were the "Kentoshi" (envoys to Tang China).
The Kentoshi were a major undertaking that staked the nation's prestige. Voyages at the time were life-threatening, and many perished in shipwrecks along the way. Nevertheless, they were dispatched in principle every twenty years to absorb the latest scholarship, religion, and art from Tang. Representative figures include Saicho (767–822) and Kukai (774–835), who would later lead the Buddhist world in the early Heian period, and Tachibana no Hayanari (782–842), one of the Sanpitsu (Three Brushes).
The things obtained in Tang were diverse. Buddhist scriptures, medical texts, astronomy and calendar systems, architectural techniques, music and dance, and fine arts and crafts—all of these raised the level of Japanese culture. And among them, the most highly valued was "calligraphy."
Calligraphy is not merely a record of characters. In the aristocratic society of the time, calligraphy was used in all settings, including letters, poetry, and ceremonial documents, and one's handwriting was considered to reflect one's character and cultivation. The value judgment that "calligraphy is the person," while a later phrase, was a way of thinking that also applied to the Nara and Heian periods. *Note: Aristocrats of the time tended to judge a person's character by their style of calligraphy.
Students and monks who traveled to Tang did not just study; they also acquired artifacts that were prized locally. Among these were items bestowed by the Tang imperial court and calligraphic works gifted by literati. The treasures that arrived in Japan in this way were housed in the imperial court and temples, and were protected as national treasures.
The symbol of this is the Shosoin. After the eye-opening ceremony of the Great Buddha at Todai-ji (752), Emperor Shomu (701–756) left behind many of his cherished possessions upon his passing, and Empress Komyo (701–760) donated them to Todai-ji. With this, the Shosoin became not just a warehouse, but a national repository of cultural assets.
Among the donated items, mixed in with jewels, textiles, musical instruments, and medicines, were numerous calligraphic works. The "Todai-ji Kenmotsucho" (Record of Items Donated to Todai-ji) contains an entry for the "Daishao Wang Zhenji Zhang" (Book of Authentic Works by the Great and Small Wangs). "Great and Small Wangs" refers to the father and son Wang Xizhi (303–361) and Wang Xianzhi (344–386). In other words, Japan at this point possessed authentic works by these two men, which were rare even globally.
Furthermore, a record remains of a "Baibijianzhi Ouyang Xun Zhenji Pingfeng" (Folding Screen with Authentic Calligraphy by Ouyang Xun on White Jade-Colored Paper). Baibijianzhi was a high-quality paper from the Tang Dynasty, and a folding screen featuring the handwriting of Ouyang Xun (557–641) was a masterpiece worthy of adorning the rooms of princes and aristocrats.
Also, in the "Kokka Chinbocho" (Record of National Treasures), there is a record of "Twenty Volumes of Wang Xizhi's Calligraphy." This was a collection of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy spanning twenty volumes, and it is possible that they were authentic works or extremely precise tracings. *Note: The fact that multiple volumes of Wang Xizhi's authentic works, which even Tang emperors could not easily possess, existed in Japan is worth noting.
The brilliance of Tenpyo culture was supported by such international exchange and a system of cultural property protection. The treasures of the Shosoin were not merely luxury items, but proof of national prestige and cultural maturity.
However, this golden age was not eternal. Over time, treasures were removed from the repository; some were returned, but others left the Shosoin as items to be discarded. Their whereabouts lost to record, they eventually sank into the darkness of history.
The heights of culture built by the Tenpyo court—the authentic works of Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, and Ouyang Xun that stood at its pinnacle—eventually disappeared from Japan, casting a deep shadow over later generations.