Previous   Next
Home » Images » 0002 Pictures From History » CPA0000596

Japan: Chinese script (Kanji). Maha Prajna Paramita Sutra, Kamakura, 10th-11th century CE

Japan: Chinese script (Kanji). Maha Prajna Paramita Sutra, Kamakura, 10th-11th century CE

Kanji are the logographic traditional Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana, katakana, Indo-Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet (known as 'rōmaji'). The Japanese term 'kanji' literally means 'Han characters' or 'Chinese characters' and is the same written term used in the Chinese language to refer to the character writing system. The Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra was an encyclopedic collection of Prajnaparamita texts, usually attributed to Nagarjuna, translated into Chinese by Xuanzang and his assistants.

Quick links to other images in this gallery: