Writing and Rewriting Wooden Tablets in Seventh- and Eighth-Century Japan: The Mokkan Used for Learning

The paper focuses on Japanese wooden tablets (mokkan 木簡), which represented the most relevant reusable medium in ancient Japan (seventh–eighth centuries CE). Indeed, the softness of certain wood types allowed these tablets to be easily smoothed and reused multiple times, until they became too worn and were transformed into thin sheets. By examining the tablets as physical objects, the paper aims to uncover how their material properties and the reuse potential of wood provided unique opportunities for learners, and to shed light on the cognitive mechanisms involved in mastering complex writing systems such as the Sinitic script.