A study of the medieval social relief network established by the monks Eison and Ninsho

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K03086
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Japanese history
• Research Institution: Nara National Museum
• Principal Investigator: Yoshizawa Satoru 独立行政法人国立文化財機構奈良国立博物館, 学芸部, 部長 (50393369)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 忍性 / 骨蔵器 / 律宗 / 社会救済

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Eison and Ninsho were priests of the Saidaiji-Ritsu sect during the Kamakura period (13th century). They are famous as pioneers of organized relief activities for leprosy patients and the poor. This study investigates the actual state of their organization based on archaeological materials, fragments of Buddhist statues, stone sculptures, and other materials. One of the most notable results of this study is the analysis of a large number of bone containers excavated from the Ninsho tombs, which revealed the presence of a wide range of individuals from the Tohoku to the Kinki region, regardless of whether they were monks, nobles, or men. This is a common feature of the Ketsuju system, which was organized for the construction of buddhist statues and stone pagodas, and is thought to have served as the basis for the spread of Ritsu sect temples throughout Japan, and was thought to have been the basis of the Ritsu sect's strategy of simultaneously promoting salvation and proselytizing.

Free Research Field

考古学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

西大寺律宗の社会救済活動に関しては、これまで宗派内の史料に依拠した研究が進められてきたが、本研究では考古資料や美術作品等などから記録に残らない人々の活動実態を把握することに努めた。仏の信仰、僧侶への信頼などを基盤に、様々な階層や地域の人々が結集し、活動に与していた様子がおよそ把握されたが、それは社会規範を制度化した今日の福祉事業のあり方と対照的である。本研究の視座は、社会福祉の通史的研究にも寄与するものと思われる。