| Research Abstract |
According to Dr.Toshio Kuroda's Kenmitsu System and Kenmon System, the religious force of "Old-Bhuuddism, " (kyu-bukkyo) which once was perceived as the force of the ancient era, is viewed as the force which regulated medieval society and the country.
Later studies have focused on the first-half of the medieval era when religious forces were established and developed. Few studies, however, dealt with the last-half of the medieval ages. This study aims to examine the relationship between religious forces and society in the last-half of the medieval era.
The research at Kanshin-ji [temple] in Osaka revealed the following : First, in the last-half of the Medieval Era, Kanshin-ji was administrated by its Shugi (priests' meeting), because To-ji, the parent temple of Kanshin-ji, was going to be incapable of controling it. Second, the Geso (lower class priest), who came from nearby farmer/peasant families, became Yamabushi and intensely opposed the Gakuryo (high-class priest) who controlled the
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religious activity of the Shingon-Sect. It is assumed that for the people from the farmer calss, the tendency to become Yamabushi is equal to their being religiously independent. Third, in the modern times, Kanshin-ji was granted Shuin-chi (its own territory) and became Kito-Jiin, which was organized with Gakuryo, where the existence of Geso was not confirmed. Fourth, in the modern era, few families of this area belonged to Kanshin-ji, though most families belonged to Saion-ji of Dainenbutsu-Sect.
In the modern times, temples could be divided into National Kito-jiin and Local Danka-Jiin, the later which controlled funeral ceremonies. The research on Kofuku-ji in Nara was done to confirm the period and reasons of the emergence of such a bipolarization of temples. The results of this research reveal that in the Nambokusho-ki, the priests who dealt with National prayr were not involved in funeral matters because death was treated as "polluted" and Bodai-ji system which supported the funeral ceremony of Kito-jiin of Risshu (Hijiri-Sect) had already appeared. Less
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