was an itinerant Japanese Buddhist

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

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

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

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

nembutsu file:玉里華山寺 (21)南無阿彌陀佛古碑.jpg, 250px, Chinese Nianfo carving The Nianfo ( zh, t=wikt:念佛, 念佛, p=niànfó, alternatively in Japanese language, Japanese ; ; or ) is a Buddhist practice central to East Asian Buddhism. ...

amongst the populace. Kūya's efforts helped promote the

Pure Land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...

teaching of Buddhism to the capital at a time when the movement was first gaining traction in Japan. For his efforts, Kūya 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, 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 a noble surname 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 since 814."...the Minamoto (1192-1333)". ''Warrior Rule in Jap ...

-no-Tamenori, and Number 18 of the Ryōjin Hishō 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 Kūya's life are very scant prior to 938, but in the existing biographies it is said that Kūya, possibly of Imperial lineage, took tonsure at a temple in

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces w ...

in his youth and traveled to various holy sites and performing good works in the community. Later, Kūya traveled to Awa and Tosa provinces before undertaking austerities at a place called Yushima (湯島) before a statue of

Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

. 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. Kūya was said to beg for food and then distribute that food to refugees and others who were suffering. Additionally, Kūya constructed Buddhist

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

and hanging scrolls depicting

and

Amitābha Amitābha (, "Measureless" or "Limitless" Light), also known as Amituofo in Chinese language, Chinese, Amida in Japanese language, Japanese and Öpakmé in Tibetan script, Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhahood, Buddhas of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddh ...

Buddha. Since his early years traveling the provinces, Kūya employed the

as a means of magically delivering the dead to the

, in contrast to the practice at the time where the dead were frequently left to decompose where they were left. Kūya was fully ordained as a monk in 948 in the Tendai Buddhist sect at Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei, and continued promoting the practice of the nembutsu while engaging in other activities. In 963, Kūya 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 Kūya until his death in 972.

Beliefs

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

as a form of thaumaturgy or miracle-working, as well as a form of salvation more common in later

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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

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

as opposed to more widespread esoteric practices. Further, Kūya was not exclusively devoted to

Buddha, but venerated other Buddhist deities, particularly

Bodhisattva.

Bowl-beating

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

haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...

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, / Kūya'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