The is a Japanese annotation of the Avatamsaka Sūtra. Dated to 794,[1] it is the oldest Japanese ongi, or collection of difficult to interpret words showing their pronunciation and meaning,[2] and is a National Treasure of Japan.[3]
The text is two fascicles in length.[4] [5] The compiler is unknown but is presumed to have related to Tōdai-ji. It is an annotation of the 80-volume Avatamsaka Sūtra. As the original was written in Chinese, the annotation contains a list of words and expressions from the original and glosses them with Japanese readings and meanings. The orthography of the Japanese suggests that it is a late Nara period text. However, the manuscript contains a number of errors and is judged to be a copy of an earlier original. There is only one known existing manuscript.
The text is viewed as a valuable reference for Old Japanese linguistics. The Japanese annotations are written in Man'yōgana and, with the exception of /to1, to2/, distinguishes between Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai. It contains a total of 162 Japanese words, many of which are the oldest extant citations. In addition, it also contains the oldest example of a long vowel as well as a number of Japanese-specific Kan'yō-on readings of kanji.
. Haruhiko Kindaichi . Ōki Hayashi . Takeshi Shibata . Nihongo Hyakka Daijiten . Taishūkan Shoten . 1988 . . Japanese . 4-469-01218-1 .
. Takeuchi Rizō . Nara Ibun: Volume 3 . Tōkyōdō Shuppan . 1962 . . Japanese . 4-490-30010-7.