1996 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Legends of Supporters of Buddhism of the Nara Period
| Project/Area Number |
07610326
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Japanese history
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| Research Institution | Tsukuba University |
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Principal Investigator |
NEMOTO Seiji Tsukuba University, Insititute of History and Anthropology, Assistant Professor., 歴史・人類学系, 助教授 (10250995)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1995 – 1996
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| Keywords | Gyoki / Kukai / Tokuitsu / Taicho / Gyoki Legends / Daisi Worship / Nara Buddhism / Nara Buddhist |
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| Research Abstract |
In order to increase our understanding of the supporters of Buddhism during the Nara Period (710-784) this research project takes as its subject Gyoki, who was particularly active during the Tempyo era (728--748). A survey of the literature on Gyoki reveals a debate over whether he continued to be persecuted by the central government or whether after his appointment as Chief High Priest of Buddhism in 744 (Tempyo 17) he became a eminent monk who distanced himself from the populace which he had previously embraced. Taking this controversy as a starting point, this dissertation analyzes numerous legends surrounding the founding of temples (engi) throughout Japan. This study reveals that Gyoki's name can associated with so many institutions that the number rivals that of temples said to have been established by Kukai, Kobo Daishi. Thus the term Gyoki densho, Gyoki Legends, can be used in the same way as Taishi sinko, Kobo Daishi Worship, which is often associated with the Eighty-eight Pil
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grimage Temples on the island of Shikoku. Just as research on Kukai has evolved through the study of the popular traditions of Kobo Daishi Worship, in the case of Gyoki, it is my belief that it is necessary to take into account the Gyoki Legends as well. Thus, this research project focuses on the diffusion of the legends associated with Gyoki.
Among the results of my work has been the discovery that in the southern part of the Tohoku district where legends associated with the monk Tokuitsu are widespread and in the Hokuriku district where legends associated with Taicho are widespread--places where legends associated with Gyoki had previously been thought not to have existed--indeed Gyoki Legends are prevalent. Thus, it can be assumed that from early times Gyoki Legends were maintained by some religious goups and came to compete with the legends about the local eminent monks. In future studies through investigations of specific examples of these coexisting competing legends, I intend to clarify further the history of the supporter of Buddhism of the Nara period. Less
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