FACTS

The Million Dharani Charms of Empress Shotoku are the oldest printed text in the world. They were printed on washi, handmade Japanese paper, using Chinese wood blocks.
Few have survived but the event is extensively documented. They are very remarkable because it is a Buddhist prayer written in the Japanese language from Sanskrit and printed using Chinese characters.
In 764, Empress Shotoku requested that 1,000,000 Buddhist prayers (Dharani) be printed on sheets of paper, washi. The prayers were then placed in wooden pagodas and then sent to temples (10 temples were given 100,000 charms each).
Each piece of white hemp paper was 6.5 cm wide and 30-56 cm long. At the time, the average paper size was 67cm by 56cm. Therefore, 113,636 sheets were used in the printing.
Empress Shotoku held the Japanese throne twice. In 749, she succeeded her father to throne and was known as Empress Koken. Nine years later, she was replaced as ruler. In the time that followed there was a civil war and small pox outbreak in Japan. In 764 she re-ascended the throne now being known as Empress Shotoku. It is said that she commissioned the charms as a way to show her gratitude for the peace and healing.
During the time between her occupancy of the throne, she started a relationship with a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō and it was rumored that they were having an affair. During her 2^nd reign as Empress she promoted him as prime minister and then to high priest of state. It is said that Dōkyō was not content with his high position in the government and persuaded oracles to predict his succession to the throne. This angered many in the government and when Empress Shotoku died in 770, Dōkyō was banished from capital. For 1000 years after, no woman was allowed to rule.

REFERENCES

Dōkyō. (2002). In The new encyclopaedia Britannica (Vol. 6, pp. 153). Chicago, IL: Micropaedia encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Hughes, S. (1978). Washi-the world of Japanese paper. Tokyo: Kodansha International.

Kōken. (2002). In The new encyclopaedia Britannica (Vol. 6, pp. 934). Chicago, IL: Micropaedia encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Kume, Y. (1979). Fine handmade papers of Japan (Tesuki washi shuno, 3 vol). Tokyo: Yahoo Booksellers Ltd.

Palmer, P. (1998, November). The history of paper. Retrieved September 2, 2003, from http://www.rbc.edu/library/liblines/novlib98.htm

Smith, F.E. (2000). Japan, Buddhism and military aristocracies. Retrieved September 2, 2003, from http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/ho7japah.htm

Washi- Japan’s encounter with paper. Retrieved September 2, 2003, from http://www.jpc.co.jp/waza/b4_washi/washi01.htm