According to Peter Kornicki's research, the Hyakumantō Dhāraṇī are believed to have been printed in Nara and inserted into wooden miniature pagodas, and have been considered for about a century to be the oldest printed texts in the world.
Sources
- Begegnung mit dem frühneuzeitlichen Japan (blog.dnb.de)
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-asian-studies/article/abs/hyakumanto-darani-and-the-origins-of-printing-in-eighthcentury-japan/CFF689ABB89B176CC9355D2FE7E8DAA6 (cambridge.org)
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259418332_THEHYAKUMANTO_DARANIAND_THE_ORIGINS_OF_PRINTING_IN_EIGHTH-CENTURY_JAPAN (researchgate.net)
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