Guide to Shōsōin ResearchWhat are Shōsōin documents? Shōsōin 正倉院 is the name of an eighth-century storehouse located on the grounds of the temple Tōdai-ji 東大寺. While it is most famous for its collection of treasures, including many objects that reached Japan via the silk road, it also preserves over 10,000 hand-written documents all dating from the Nara period (710–784). The manuscripts were originally part of a state-san
