The Footprints of the Buddha

Alexander Vovin, Ph.D. (1987), Saint Petersburg State University, is currently Directeur d'études at EHESS/CRLAO, Paris. He has published extensively on East and Inner Asia historical linguistics and philology. Among his major, most recent works are A Descriptive and Comparative Grammar of Western Old Japanese, vol. 1-2 (Global Oriental 2005, 2009, second edition Brill 2020), and a multivolume edition and translation of the Man’yōshū, the first and the largest Japanese poetical anthology (Global Oriental/Brill, 2009–).

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Charts and Illustrations

Abbreviations



Introduction

 1 Hōssō Sect of the Japanese Buddhism

 2 Bussokuseki and Bussoku seki-no uta

 3 Inscriptions on the Footprints Stone

 4 Stele Inscription

 5 Previous Research

 6 Poetic Form



1 Translation of Chinese Inscriptions and Commentary



2 Translation, Glossing, and Morphemic Analysis of Old Japanese Poems

A Commentary to the Old Japanese Poems



3 The Description of the Language of the Poems

 1 Graphemics and Phonology

 2 Grammar

 3 Vocabulary

 4 List of Grammatical Morphemes



Appendix: Photographs of the Inscriptions

Bibliography