Godansho

Godansho: A Copy of Oe no Masafusa's Recorded Conversations

The Godansho (江談抄) held by Daigo-ji temple in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, is a Kamakura-period manuscript copy of a Heian collection of recorded conversations, and was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1922.

The title is read Godansho, not Edansho. The work records the talk of Oe no Masafusa, a leading scholar of the late Heian period, as written down by Fujiwara no Sanekane. Go-dan means the conversations of the Oe family, and the book covers court ceremony, Chinese-style poetry and prose, and anecdotes about people, all as Masafusa told them.

Daigo-ji's copy was designated on 13 April 1922. Another Godansho manuscript, handed down at Kozan-ji and now held by the Kyoto National Museum, is also an Important Cultural Property; Daigo-ji's copy is a separate manuscript.

Why It Is Protected

The Godansho was compiled in the late Heian period, and no original survives. Manuscript copies made close to that time are therefore the key to what the text originally said.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs classes Daigo-ji's Godansho as a Kamakura-period copy. Cultural Heritage Online describes the Kozan-ji copy as dating, on the evidence of its hand, to no later than the early Kamakura period, which shows how Kamakura copies underpin study of the text. Daigo-ji's copy was designated as one of these early manuscripts.

The agency's public data say little about the contents, volumes or precise date of this copy. This article does not go into those questions and describes only its standing as a designated manuscript.

What to Look For

Daigo-ji holds an enormous number of treasures, many of them nationally designated cultural properties. According to its Reihokan museum, the collection covers sculpture, painting, crafts and documents of great value for the history of Buddhism and art in Japan.

The Godansho is one of the books among those treasures, recording the talk of a court intellectual. If it is on display, look at the brushwork of a text written largely in Chinese characters and at the form of a book that set down spoken conversation.

Visiting Daigo-ji Reihokan

Daigo-ji's treasures are preserved and shown at the Reihokan museum, which holds special exhibitions in spring and autumn. No schedule for showing the Godansho could be found, so ask Daigo-ji about exhibition plans if you hope to see it.

From March 1 to the first Sunday of December the temple is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and from the following day to the end of February 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with admission ending 30 minutes before closing. A combined ticket for Sanboin, the main precinct and the Reihokan costs 1,500 yen for adults.

Daigo-ji is in Daigo, Fushimi Ward. Parking nearby is limited, and the temple asks visitors to come by public transport. Follow the Reihokan's signs on photography.