Buddhism’s Place in the Cultural History of the East

How did Indian ideas travel across Asia, and why did a Japanese scholar believe their fullest record survived in Japan? In this lively 1930 lecture, Takakusu Junjirō follows Buddhism along caravan roads and sea routes, through ancient kingdoms, temple dances, ritual processions, and the changing vocabulary of everyday life.

His argument becomes personal when he describes collecting Sanskrit manuscripts in Nepal, obtaining imperial gifts of Buddhist canons, and watching students rescue precious books from the earthquake fires. Encounters with foreign scholars help persuade him to undertake an immense publication project despite debt and disaster.

A pioneering Japanese Buddhist scholar, Takakusu speaks with conviction, humor, and the national assumptions of his period. His sweeping historical judgments and speculative etymologies reveal both the ambitions and the limitations of that outlook. This complete English translation preserves his lecture’s ten sections, anecdotes, and quoted verse, with notes on textual inconsistencies and uncertain readings. AI-assisted translation, prepared and edited by Valentin Sarić.