, better known in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
by his
posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishm ...
, Jikaku Daishi (), was a priest of the
Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...
school of Buddhism in Japan, and its third . Ennin was instrumental in expanding the Tendai Order's influence, and bringing back crucial training and resources from China, particularly esoteric Buddhist training and
Pure Land
A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). The ...
teachings.
Birth and origin
He was born into the
Mibu
270px, Mibu Toy Museum
is a town located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 39,158 in 16,149 households, and a population density of 640 persons per km². The total area of the town is .
Geography
Mibu is lo ...
() family in present-day
Tochigi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to th ...
, Japan and entered the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
priesthood at
Enryaku-ji
is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was first founded in 788 during the early Heian period (794–1185) by Saichō (767–822), also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayan ...
on
Mt. Hiei (Hieizan) near
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
at the age of 14.
Trip to China
In 838, Ennin was in the party which accompanied
Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu
was a Japanese diplomat.
Mission to China
In 833, Emperor Ninmyō named Tsunetsugu the Imperial ambassador to China, with Ono Takamura his deputy. The principal aims of the mission was trade - books, art, and luxuries (such as perfume) were in ...
's
diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...
to the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
Imperial court.
The trip to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
marked the beginning of a set of tribulations and adventures which he documented in
his journal. The journal describes an account of the workings of the government of China, which saw strong and able administrative control of the state and its provinces, even at a time of a supposed decline of the Tang dynasty. His writings also expanded on religious matters and commerce. He stayed in
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
for five years.
Initially, he studied under two masters and then spent some time at
Wutaishan
Mount Wutai, also known by its Chinese name Wutaishan and as is a sacred Buddhist site at the headwaters of the Qingshui in Shanxi Province, China. Its central area is surrounded by a cluster of flat-topped peaks roughly corresponding to the ...
(; Japanese: ''Godaisan''), a mountain range famous for its numerous Buddhist temples in
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...
Province in China. Here, he learned among other practices. Later he went to
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...
(Japanese: Chōan), then the capital of China, where he was ordained into both
mandala
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...
rituals: the
Mahāvairocana-sūtra and the
Vajraśekhara-sūtra, along with initiation and training in the
Susiddhikara Sūtra tantra.
He also wrote of his travels by ship while sailing along the
Grand Canal of China
The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (, or more commonly, as the「大运河」("Grand Canal")), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting in Beijing, it passes ...
.
Ennin was in China when the anti-Buddhist
Emperor Wuzong of Tang
Emperor Wuzong of Tang (July 2, 814 – April 22, 846), né Li Chan, later changed to Li Yan just before his death, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, reigning from 840 to 846. Emperor Wuzong is mainly known in modern times for the r ...
took the throne in 840, and he lived through the
Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution
The Huichang Persecution of Buddhism () was initiated by Emperor Wuzong (Li Chan) of the Tang dynasty during the Huichang era (841–845). Among its purposes were to appropriate war funds and to cleanse Tang China of foreign influences. As such ...
of 842–846. As a result of the persecution, he was deported from China, returning to Japan in 847.
Return to Japan
In 847 he returned to Japan and in 854, he became the third abbot of the Tendai sect at Enryakuji, where he built buildings to store the
sutra
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an ap ...
s and religious instruments he brought back from China. His dedication to expanding the monastic complex and its courses of study assured the Tendai school a unique prominence in Japan. While his chief contribution was to strengthen the Tendai tantric Buddhist tradition, the Pure Land recitation practices (''nenbutsu'') that he introduced also helped to lay a foundation for the independent Pure Land movements of the subsequent Kamakura period (1185–1333).
Ennin also founded the temple of
Ryushakuji : ''You may also be looking for the voice actor Kōichi Yamadera.''
, (山号 宝珠山; ''Sangō Hōshu-zan'') is the popular name for the Buddhist temple of located northeast of Yamagata City, in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Its main image i ...
at
Yamadera.
Literary work
He wrote more than one hundred books. His diary of travels in China, , was translated into English by Professor
Edwin O. Reischauer under the title ''
Ennin's Diary: The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law''. Sometimes ranked among the best travelogues in world literature, it is a key source of information on life in Tang China and
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms o ...
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
and offers a rare glimpse of the Silla personality
Jang Bogo
Jang Bogo (787–841), childhood name: Gungbok, was a Sillan who rose to prominence in the Later Silla period of Korea as a powerful maritime figure who effectively controlled the Yellow Sea (West Sea), and dominated the trade between Silla, H ...
.
References
Sources
* Edwin O. Reischauer, ''Ennin's Diary: The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law'' (New York: Ronald Press, 1955).
* Edwin O. Reischauer, ''Ennin's Travels in T'ang China'' (New York: Ronald Press, 1955).
External links
Retracing the steps of Ennin a travelog of a partial retracing of Ennin's journey made in 2006, with photographs.
{{Authority control
790s births
864 deaths
Japanese scholars of Buddhism
Japanese Buddhist clergy
Tendai Buddhist monks
People of Heian-period Japan
People of Nara-period Japan
Japanese ambassadors to the Tang dynasty
Heian period Buddhist clergy