From outcasts to emperors : Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjuśrī cult in medieval Japan

354 Pages·2015·2.88 MB·English

by  Quinter, David

From Outcasts to Emperors
Brill’s Japanese
Studies Library
Edited by
Joshua Mostow (Managing Editor)
Caroline Rose
Kate Wildman Nakai
VOLUME 50
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bjsl
From Outcasts to Emperors
Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjuśrī Cult
in Medieval Japan
By
David Quinter
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustration: Five-Syllable Mañjuśrī Painting (with Monkan’s 1334/6/9 dedication), Collection from Nara
National Museum. Important Cultural Property. Photograph provided by Nara National Museum.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Quinter, David, author.
 From outcasts to emperors : Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjuśri ̄cult in medieval Japan / by David Quinter.
  pages cm. — (Brill’s Japanese studies library, ISSN 0925-6512 ; volume 50)
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBN 978-90-04-29339-7 (hardback : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-29459-2 (e-book)
 1. Ritsu (Sect)—Japan—History. 2. Mañjuśri ̄(Buddhist deity)—Cult—Japan—History. I. Title.
 BQ8782.Q26 2015
 294.3’92—dc23
2015010669
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering
Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities.
For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 0925-6512
isbn 978-90-04-29339-7 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-29459-2 (e-book)
Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and
Hotei Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior written permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv
provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center,
222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa.
Fees are subject to change.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
For three mothers:
Kumi, Mom, and Okāsan
∵

Contents
Acknowledgements xi
List of Illustrations xiii
Conventions xiv
Prologue 1
Introduction 9
Imagining Mañjuśrī 20
The Study of Medieval Japanese Buddhism 25
1 Living Bodhisattvas and Hijiri: Eison, Ninshō, and the Cults of Mañjuśrī
and Gyōki 31
Eison’s Early Career 33
Ninshō’s Early Career 36
Mutual Influences: Scholarly Training and Mañjuśrī Assemblies 44
Public Works and the Emulation of Gyōki 47
Eison’s Emulation of Mañjuśrī and “Erasure” of Gyōki 51
Conclusions 56
2 Tradition and Transformation: Precedents for the Saidaiji Order
Mañjuśrī Assemblies 58
The Mañjuśrī Parinirvāṇa Sutra (Mañjuśrī Sutra) 60
Motifs in the Mt. Wutai Mañjuśrī Cult 62
Gyōki as Mañjuśrī 65
State-Sponsored Mañjuśrī Assemblies 67
Warrior-Sponsored Mañjuśrī Assemblies: Rulers, Rituals, and Relief 73
Memorial Rites, Mothers, and Mañjuśrī 77
Conclusions 83
3 Discrimination and Empowerment: Hannyaji, Outcasts, and the Living
Mañjuśrī 86
History of Hannyaji and Its Restoration 89
Construction and 1267 Dedication of the Hannyaji Mañjuśrī 95
The 1269 Non-Discriminatory Assembly 101
Material and Ritual Context 101
Doctrinal Context: Icchantikas and Universal Buddhahood 107
viii contents
Eison’s 1267 and 1269 Votive Texts for the Hannyaji Mañjuśrī 113
Icchantikas, Outcasts, and Other Transgressors 114
Ritual Empowerment, Purification, and Practice 117
Conclusions 123
4 Fundraising, Patronage, and the Hannyaji Mañjuśrī: From Eison to
Shinkū 127
The Hannyaji Restoration and the Rhetoric of Reluctance 128
“Muen” and the Donations for the Hannyaji Mañjuśrī Image 132
Shinkū’s 1287 Votive Text and the Hannyaji Mañjuśrī Attendant
Statues 142
Iconography and Social Positioning 142
Shinkū’s Narrative 144
Conclusions 149
5 Exoteric-Esoteric Lineage Construction and Mañjuśrī: Dream-Visions in
Eison’s and Myōe’s Lineages 151
Provenance and Contents of Eison’s Statement of Transmission to
Shinkū 154
Shingon, Ritsu, and Uses of Eison’s Statement of Transmission to
Shinkū 161
Myōe, Mañjuśrī, and Dream-Visions 164
Conclusions 175
6 Double Vision: The “Tachikawa” Monkan and Shingon/Ritsu 179
Sex, Power, and Distortion: Issues in Portraits of Monkan 180
New Biographical Portrait of Monkan 183
Monkan’s Early Career 184
The 1302 Saidaiji Mañjuśrī Pentad 187
Monkan’s 1314 Saigyokushō 190
Monkan’s Post-1316 Shingon Career 194
The 1335 Mt. Kōya Petition, Monkan’s Mañjuśrī Rites, and Shingon
Activities 202
The Construction of the “Heretical” Monkan and the Tachikawa
Lineage 209
Repaying Mother and Protecting the State: Monkan’s Mañjuśrī
Paintings 219
Wish-Fulfilling Jewels, the Three-Deity Combinatory Rites, and
Mañjuśrī 225
Conclusions 232
contents ix
Epilogue 234
Early Saidaiji Order Activities and Outcasts as “Supporters” 234
Continuity and Change in the Shingon Ritsu Mañjuśrī Cult: From Eison to
Monkan 237
The Shingon Ritsu Mañjuśrī Cult and Outcasts Reconsidered 239
The Esoteric and the Exoteric in the Saidaiji Order 245
The Nara Schools and Medieval Buddhism: Models, Maps, and
Directions 248
Documents: Annotated Translations 251
828 Council of State Directive Establishing Mañjuśrī Assemblies 251
1239–1240 Gakushōki Entries Introducing Ninshō 253
Eison’s Monju Kōshiki in Three Parts (ca. 1246) 256
1247 Collective Vow by Eison and Others 273
1267 Hannyaji Monju Engi 275
1269 Hannyaji Monju Bosatsu Zō Zōryū Ganmon 286
The 1269/3/25 Hannyaji Mañjuśrī Offering Ceremony, Recorded by
Nakatomi no Sukekata 292
1287 Hannyaji Uten’ō Zenzai-Dōji Zō Zōryū Ganmon 294
Nenpu Passages Recording Eison’s Statement of Transmission to
Shinkū 296
References 299
Index 315