Taoism and Ancient Japan: continental influences on court and classic literature

Abstract

The role of Daoism in Japan is still a source of uncertainty and doubt today. This is due to a combination of different factors: the absence of a real school, the difficulty of distinguishing what is generally Chinese from what is specifically Daoist, and, in general, the complexity of the Japanese religious context. My focus in this work is to create a counter narrative in order to re-interpret and re-contextualise classical Japanese literature trough the prism of Yin-Yang and Taoist practices and languages, with a particular look to the socio-political context of Nara and Heian period and re-positioning this works in the frame of Sino-Japanese cultural frame.