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Kôshiki is one of the Buddhist rituals peculiar to Japan which sprang up in the latter half of the tenth century. It is different from other rituals in that it was spoken in Japanese and it can be said that it is a unique comprehensive cultural system which includes elements of music (wind and string instruments and vocal music), dance, theatre, and painting. Thus it is an important source for the study of not only literature, but Japanese culture and religion as well. In particular its relationship to literature has been very deep since the very inception of Kôshiki. Ni-go Zanmaishiki, a work which is the origin of Kôshiki, was born from the encounter of Yoshishige no Yasutane, who is well-known as the author of Chiteinoki and Genshin Sôzu. It was enjoyed in the middle ages as Rokudô Kôshiki, and has been performed to the present. Yôkan's Ôjô Kôshiki and his recently discovered Sanji Nenbutsu kannmonshiki are both works of high literary quality and have been quoted in many literary works. Men of letters also both authored Kôshiki (Gyôson's Shaka Kôshiki, Sugawara no Tamenaga's Tenjin Kôshiki, Jien's Jie Daishi Kôshiki, Retired Emperor Go-Toba's Mujô Kôshiki, etc.) and placed orders for them (as in the case of Kamo no Chômei and the Gakkôshiki). And in the thirteenth century renowned men of letters like Sugawara no Michizane and Kakinomoto no Hitomaro become objects of worship in Kôshiki. Despite the fact that this Buddhist ritual and literature are so intimately connected in this way, there have been virtually no full-scale studies of this problem. Indeed, Kôshiki itself is still little known outside of a very small group of specialists. Consequently, in this paper, after first explanining just what Kôshiki is, I shall introduce the more important examples, which should be of interest in several fields of medieval literary studies (Nô plays, tales, waka, military tales, etc.), out of the approximately 300 works of Kôshiki extant, and as time permits add a simple explanation.