The strength of Buddhism in Japan lies in the intelligentsia and rural population. Buddhist scholarship is promoted by the activities of the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies. Many Buddhist scholars are well versed inSanskrit literature, as well as Western philosophies and religions....
The essential medium of administration was writing, reinforced by personal authority over the nonliterate 99 percent of the population; texts exhorting the young to be scribes emphasize that the scribe commanded while the rest did the work. Most officials (almost all of whom were men) held severa...