was a Japanese Tendai Buddhist monk of the Azuchi-Momoyama and early

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

periods. He achieved the rank of ''Daisōjō'', the highest rank of the priesthood. His Buddhist name was first , which he changed to Tenkai in 1590. Also known as , he died on 13 November 1643, and was granted the posthumous title of in 1648. Tenkai was at Kita-in (then written 北院) in Kawagoe in 1588, and became abbot in 1599. He was on the advisor of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and served as a liaison between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Imperial Court in Kyoto. One of his projects was the rebuilding of Enryaku-ji, which had been devastated by

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. He also revitalized Kita-in, and changed the characters of its name to 喜多院. Nearing death in 1616, Ieyasu entrusted Tenkai with his last will regarding matters of his funeral and his posthumous name. Tenkai selected '' gongen'' rather than ''myōjin,'' and after death Ieyasu became known as Tōshō Daigongen. Tenkai continued to serve as a consultant to the next two

Tokugawa shōguns Tokugawa may refer to: *Tokugawa era, an alternative term for the Edo period, 1603 to 1868 *Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime of Japan during the Edo period **Tokugawa clan, a powerful family of Japan ***Tokugawa Ieyasu (154 ...

. In 1624, retired shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada and ruling shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu asked him to establish Kan'ei-ji, a Buddhist temple to the northeast of

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...

in Ueno. There are several theories concerning his early life. Some fiction writers postulate that he was in actuality Akechi Mitsuhide. It is not certain whether Mitsuhide died at the

Battle of Yamazaki The was fought in 1582 in Shimamoto, Osaka, Yamazaki, Japan, located in current-day Kyoto Prefecture. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Mt. Tennō (天王山の戦い ''Tennō-zan no tatakai''). In the Honnō-ji Incident, ...

or not, and some suppose that he survived and began a new life as the priest Tenkai.

In popular media

*Tenkai appears as the main villain in the first '' Sakura Wars'' game. *In the game '' Sengoku Basara 3'' and the anime Sengoku Basara: The Last Party the character Tenkai is portrayed as a cryptic monk who speaks in riddles and wields twin scythes. As with the rumor above, Tenkai is actually a re-skinned model of Akechi Mitsuhide, from the game and anime's predecessor. As of the ''UTAGE'' upgrade of the third game, the series established both Tenkai and Mitsuhide as a same person. *In the '' Onimusha series'',

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took on the identity of Tenkai in '' Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams''. *In the video game ''

Shin Megami Tensei IV is a Japanese post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed by Atlus for the Nintendo 3DS. It is part of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series, the central series of the ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, though no direct story connection exists to ...

'' Tenkai appears as a National Defense Divinity once the party reaches a later portion of Tokyo. *In the anime and light novels '' Mirage of Blaze,'' Tenkai's name has been mentioned in a crucial part of the story arc, being that an old incantation of his that he had invoked centuries ago would be the key for Lord Kagetora Uesugi and his team to stop their enemies in controlling the Feudal Underworld and the living world. *He appears in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order as an antagonist of the event GUDAGUDA Imperial Capital Grail. He is truly Akechi Mitsuhide and he quickly reveals his identity. *He appears in the game "Nioh" and "Nioh 2", which represents him like an old and powerful onmyo mage that helps you during the storyline to fight yokai demons and bans them with magic from our dimension.

Gallery

File:Tenkai - Rule of November Memorial Service for Zhi-yi - Google Art Project.jpg, Rule of Shimotsukie written by Tenkai File:KaneijiPagoda1270.jpg, Tenkai established Kan'ei-ji in 1624 File:Rinnoji jigendo haka.jpg, Tenkai's grave File:Jigendo Otsu06n4592.jpg, Jigendo in Sakamoto, Otsu

References

KITAIN
site
Kaneiji Temple
Japanese)
Kaneiji Temple
English)

(IPA, an agency of the Government of Japan)

{{People of the Sengoku period , state=autocollapse Japanese Buddhist clergy Japanese centenarians 1536 births 1643 deaths Edo period Buddhist clergy Men centenarians