Woodblock printing originated in China in the Tang dynasty and spread to Japan.
So why did it become more culturally prominent and enduring in Japan?
In Japan, it evolved into a vibrant art form (ukiyo-e), emphasizing images, daily life, landscapes, and celebrities. Artists like Hokusai and Hiroshige elevated woodblock prints to high culture.
The main reason is that the Chinese went on to consider calligraphy and painting as elite art forms. (P 135 Art in China by Craig Clunas).
The Chinese mainly used woodblock printing for printing texts, in particular Buddhist scriptures.
In fact, the world’s earliest printed book is the Diamond Sutra, printed in 868 and removed cunningly by Aurel Stein from Dunhuang in 1907, and now in the British Library.
The Diamond Sutra embodies the Pure Land School of Buddhism’s beliefs.
The copy discovered was printed by Wang Jie “for universal free distribution…on behalf of my parents.” (P 109 Clunas, 1997).
Pure Land Buddhism is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism, which is a later development from the more austere self-help nirvana belief of the older Hinayana/Theravada Buddhism.
The Pure Land School believes there exists a paradise called the Pure Land or the Western Paradise. Amitabha presides over this paradise, and anyone who has absolute belief in him will be reborn there. (P 338-341 Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey by Kenneth Chen, 1964)
LWH, Monday 18 August 2025, 11 pm
