Kūya (空也; 903-972) was an itinerant Japanese Buddhist

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, or ''hijiri'' (聖), later ordained in 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 ...

Buddhist sect, who was an early proselytizer of the practice of the

nembutsu Nianfo (, Japanese: , , vi, niệm Phật) is a term commonly seen in Pure Land Buddhism. In the context of Pure Land practice, it generally refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha. It is a translation of Sanskrit '' '' (or, "recoll ...

amongst the populace. Kuya's efforts helped promote the Pure Land teaching of Buddhism to the capital at a time when the movement was first gaining traction in Japan. For his efforts, Kuya earned the name ''ichi hijiri'' (holy man of the marketplace) and ''Amida hijiri''. Kūya was known for taking images with him on his travels and added musical rhythm and dance to his prayers, known as odori

. Like

Gyōki was a Japanese Buddhist priest of the Nara period, born in Ōtori county, Kawachi Province (now Sakai, Osaka), the son of Koshi no Saichi. According to one theory, one of his ancestors was of Korean descent. Gyōki became a monk at Asuka-dera, ...

, he is said to have performed works for the public benefit such as building roads and bridges, digging wells, and burying abandoned corpses.

Biographies

Biographies of Kūya were written by his friends and followers Jakushin and

Minamoto was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during th ...

-no-Tamenori, and Number 18 of the

Ryōjin Hishō is an anthology of ''imayō'' 今様 songs. Originally it consisted of two collections joined together by Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa: the ''Kashishū'' 歌詞集 and the ''Kudenshū'' 口伝集. The works were probably from the repertoire of ...

derives from 'Kūya's Praise'. The late tenth-century collection of biographies of those who had attained rebirth in the Pure Land, the ''Nihon ōjō gokuraki ki'', attributes to Kūya the devotion of all Japan to the nembutsu. He is also known as founder of Rokuharamitsu-ji where he later died. Details of Kuya's life are very scant prior to 938, but in the existing biographies it is said that Kuya, possibly of Imperial lineage, took tonsure at a temple in Owari Province in his youth and traveled to various holy sites and performing good works in the community. Later, Kuya traveled to

Awa Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

and Tosa provinces before undertaking austerities at a place called Yushima (湯島) before a statue of

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

. After attaining a vision of Kannon, he traveled to other provinces and eventually came to the capital in 938. Due to an ongoing revolt at the time, people from the provinces were displaced and came to the capital. Kuya was said to beg for food and then distribute that food to refugees and others who were suffering. Additionally, Kuya constructed Buddhist stupa and hanging scrolls depicting

and Amitābha Buddha. Since his early years traveling the provinces, Kuya employed the

as a means of magically delivering the dead to the Pure Land, in contrast to the practice at the time where the dead were frequently left to decompose where they were left. Kuya was fully ordained as a monk in 948 in the Tendai Buddhist sect at

Enryakuji 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 Mahayana ...

temple on

Mount Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei b ...

, and continued promoting the practice of the nembutsu while engaging in other activities. In 963, Kuya staged a grand ceremony to commemorate the completion of a copy, begun in 950 and relying on community donations, of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra composed in gold ink. Research suggests this sutra project was intended to relieve epidemics and pacify the spirits of the dead. The biographies continue describing further miracles performed by Kuya until his death in 972.

Beliefs

Details of Kuya's religious beliefs are not explicitly explained in the biographies, but it is inferred from his actions that Kuya viewed the

as a form of

thaumaturgy Thaumaturgy is the purported capability of a magician to work magic or other paranormal events or a saint to perform miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking. A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a "thaumaturge", "thauma ...

or miracle-working, as well as a form of salvation more common in later Pure Land teachings. Stories of ''hijiri'' itinerant monks (cf. Gyōki were common in the early

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

, and Kuya is counted among them, but differs somewhat in his employment of the

as opposed to more widespread esoteric practices. Further, Kuya was not exclusively devoted to Amitābha Buddha, but venerated other Buddhist deities, particularly

Bodhisattva.

Bowl-beating

Kuya's followers commemorated his death for 48 nights from the 13th November onwards, by bowl-beating (''hachi-tataki'') in and around Kyoto. The

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or s ...

poets were very struck by this practice, making 'cold prayers' (''kan-nembutsu'') a set topic, and giving rise to Basho's famous tribute: "Dried salted salmon, / Kuya's emaciation also, / During the coldest season".R H Blyth, ''A History of Haiku Vol I'' (1963) p. 149

Biographies

Beliefs

Bowl-beating

See also

References

Further reading