Rōben and “Shoku Nihongi"

Raben, a priest of Todaiji, was one of the leading priests in the Nara period, and his necrology was inscribed in the "Shoku Nihongi". However, his name appeared in only four places, including his necrology that excluded his biography. As this could show how the government appraised Raben at the time of compilation of "Shoku Nihongi", I clarified the relating matters examining the circumstances of the article and details. I examined the notices pertaining to four priests among the six whose biographical descriptions appeared in "Shoku Nihongi", excluding two priests called Genbo and Dokyo whose biographies were included for other reasons. As a result of my considerations I concluded that the historical documents that were used for compiling the "Shoku Nihongi" were statements made by the temples to claim their economical privileges. Then examining the relationship between Raben and Todaiji, I could assume that Raben was not mentioned in Todaiji's historical documents because this temple put an emphasis on its relationships to Emperor Shomu and the Imperial Family when claiming its economical privileges. However, this did not mean that Raben's position within the temple was low, but simply showed that Todaiji, rebelling against governmental restrictions placed upon it, chose to emphasize its relationship to the Emperor. Moreover, there was a possibility that Raben's biography had not been completed when "Shoku Nihongi" was being compiled. Considering the fact that articles about priests' death were scarcely found in the "Shoku Nihongi", Raben's necrology inscribed in it proved that his estimation by the government was by no means low