Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

The amount of Buddhist historical materials from the Joseon dynasty is much greater than in any previous period. However, studies on these materials have thus far not made much progress. Instead, the historical view of Buddhism in the Joseon dynasty, formed during the period of Japanese occupation by such authors as Takahashi, has continued to predominate. In this paper, Buddhist historical materials of the Joseon dynasty are classified into those written by the government and the literati (the sajok), and those written by the Buddhist community and monastics. In addition, the characteristics of each material are catalogued: for example, official chronological historiographies, legal codes, household registers, geographical gazetteers, literary collections and diaries of the literati, Buddhist writings and published scriptures, literary collections of monastics, memorial steles for the renowned monks, temple documents, and so on. I conclude that it is hard to maintain the view that Buddhism in the Joseon dynasty was suppressed in a consistent manner, powerless in society, and discontinued in tradition. Therefore, Takahashi's argument and understanding of the history of Buddhism in the Joseon dynasty needs to be reconsidered.