Sources of Japanese Tradition
second edition
volume 1
introduction to as ian civ il izat ions
Introduction to Asian Civilizations
Wm. Theodore de Bary, General Editor
Sources of Japanese Tradition (1958; 2nd ed., 2001)
Sources of Indian Tradition (1958; 2nd ed., 1988)
Sources of Chinese Tradition (1960; issued in 2 vols., 1964;
vol. 1, 2nd ed., 1999; vol. 2, 2nd ed., 2000)
Sources of Korean Tradition (vol. 1, 1997; vol. 2, 2001)
Sources of Japanese Tradition
second edition
volume one: from earliest times to 1600
Compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary, Donald Keene, George Tanabe, and Paul Varley
with collaboration of William Bodiford, Jurgis Elisonas, and Philip Yampolsky
and contributions by
Yoshiko Dykstra, Allan Grapard, Paul Groner, Edward Kamens,
Robert Morrell, Charles Orzech, Rajyashree Pandey,
Denis Twitchett, and Royall Tyler
columbia university press
new york
Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright � 2001 Columbia University Press All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sources of Japanese tradition / compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary . . . [et al.] ; with collaboration of William Bodiford, Jurgis Elisonas, Philip Yampolsky ; and contributions by Yoshiko Dykstra . . . [et al.]. — 2nd ed.
p. cm. — (Introduction to Asian civilizations) Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents: v. 1. From earliest times through the sixteenth century ISBN 0–231–12138–5 (cloth) ISBN 0–231–12139–3 (paper) 1. Japan—Civilization—Sources. 2. Japan—History—Sources. I. De Bary, William
Theodore, 1919– II. Dykstra, Yoshiko Kurata. III. Series.
DS821 . S68 2001 952—dc21 00-060181
Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Acknowledgment is gratefully made for permission to reprint from the following:
Anesaki Masaharu. Nichiren, the Buddhist Prophet. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1916, pp. 83–85.
Aoki Michiko, tr. Izumo no Kuni Fudoki. Monumenta Nipponica Monographs. Tokyo: Sophia University Press, 1971, pp. 80, 82.
From pp. 71–75 of Conversations with Shôtetsu, translated by Robert H. Brower, with an intro- duction and notes by Stephen H. Carter, Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies, Number 7 (Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan, 1992). Used with permission.
Reprinted from Japanese Court Poetry, by Robert H. Brower and Earl Miner, with the permission of the publishers, Stanford University Press. � 1961 the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
Delmer Brown, and Ichiro Ishida. Future and the Past: A Translation and Study of the Gukanshô. Copyright � 1979 The Regents of the University of California.
Thomas Conlan, tr. In Little Need of Divine Intervention: Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions of Japan, Translation with an Interpretive Essay of the Invasions. Forthcoming 2000, Cornell East Asia Series, East Asia Program, Cornell University, 140 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853–7601.
James Dobbins. Jôdo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan. Bloomington: Indiana Uni- versity Press, 1989, pp. 141–142, 145.
Yoshiko Kurata Dykstra. ‘‘Jizô, the Most Merciful: Tales from the Jizô Bosatsu Reigenki.’’ Mon- umenta Nipponica 33.2 (1978), pp. 27–29, 192, 197–200.
Yoshiko Kurata Dykstra. Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan. Hirakata City, Japan: Intercultural Research Institute, Kansai University of Foreign Studies, 1983, pp. 27–29.
Continued on page 517
Dedicated to the memory of Ryūsaku Tsunoda
Pioneer teacher of Japanese Studies in America
contents
Preface xvii Explanatory Note xix
Contributors xxi Chronological Table xxiii
part one Early Japan 1
1. The Earliest Records of Japan 3
Japan in the Chinese Dynastic Histories 5
Accounts of the Eastern Barbarians 6
History of the Kingdom of Wei (Wei zhi) ca. 297 c.e. 6
History of the Latter Han Dynasty (Hou Han shu) ca. 445 c.e. 8
History of the Liu Song Dynasty (Songshu) ca. 513 c.e. 9
History of the Sui Dynasty (Sui shu) ca. 630 c.e. 10
New History of the Tang Dynasty (Xin Tang shu) 12
The Earliest Japanese Chronicles 13
viii contents
Birth of the Land 13
Preface to Records of Ancient Matters (Kojiki) 15
2. Early Shinto 17
Legends Concerning Shinto Deities 19
Birth of the Sun Goddess 20
The Divine Creation of the Imperial Ancestors 21
Legends Concerning Susa-no-o 23
Susa-no-o and the Sun Goddess 24
Susa-no-o in Izumo 25
Descent of the Divine Grandson with the Three Imperial Regalia 27
Princess Yamato and Prince Plenty 28
The Founding of Izumo 29
Enshrinement of Amaterasu 30
Shinto Prayers (Norito) 31
Norito for the Festival of the Sixth Month 31
The Blessing of the Great Palace 33
The Great Exorcism of the Last Day of the Sixth Month 34
Moving the Shrine of the Great Deity at Ise 36
Driving Away a Vengeful Deity 36
Congratulatory Words of the Chieftain of Izumo 38
3. Prince Shōtoku and His Constitution 40
Internal Strife in the Late Sixth Century 42
The Reign of Suiko and Rule of Shōtoku 46
The Empress Suiko, 592–628 c.e. 47
The Seventeen-Article Constitution of Prince Shōtoku 50
The Lotus Sūtra 55
Preaching the One Great Vehicle [Mahāyāna] 56
The Parable of the Burning House 57
The Vimalakı̄rti Sūtra (Yuima-kyō) 59
Entering the Gate of Nondualism 61
Contents ix
4. Chinese Thought and Institutions in Early Japan 63
Chinese-Style History and the Imperial Concept 70
From the Preface to Records of Ancient Matters (Kojiki) 71
Emperor Jinmu 72
Nintoku: Rule of Benevolence 74
The Reform Era 75
Fujiwara no Kamatari and the Future Emperor Tenchi 76
Inauguration of the Great Reform Era 76
Reform Edicts 77
The White Pheasant 83
The Chinese Model of Rulership (Denis Twitchett) 84
Taizong: Plan for an Emperor (Difan) (Denis Twitchett) 85
The Commentary on the Legal Code (Ryō no gige) 89
Memorial on the Submission of the Commentary on the Legal Code 90
Regulations for Fitness Reports 91
New Compilation of the Register of Families 95
Preface in the Form of a Memorial to Emperor Saga 95
Preface to the Kaifūsō 97
5. Nara Buddhism 100
The Sūtra of the Golden Light 106
The Protection of the Country by the Four Deva Kings 107
The Flower Garland School 108
The Flower Garland Sūtra 108
The Flower Garland Sūtra: The Tower of Vairochana 109
The Buddha Kingdom of the Flower Garland 110
State Sponsorship and Control of Buddhism 111
The Humane King as Protector of Buddhism 112
Buddhism and the State in Nara Japan 114
Proclamation of the Emperor Shōmu on the Erection of the Great Buddha Image 114
The Bodhisattva Gyōgi (Yoshiko Dykstra) 115
x contents
Regulation of the Buddhist Orders by the Court 118
Edicts of the Empress Shōtoku Concerning Dōkyō 119
Edict of October 19, 764 119
Edict of November 26, 766 120
The Merger of Buddhist and Shinto Deities 120
part two Mahāyāna Universalism and the Sense of Hierarchy 123
6. Saichō and Mt. Hiei (Ryusaku Tsunoda and Paul Groner) 125
The Tendai Lotus Teaching 131
Guanding: On the Five Periods of the Buddha’s Teaching (Daniel Stevenson) 133
Huisi: The Method of Calming and Contemplation in the Mahāyāna 137
Zhiyi: Calming and Contemplation 139
Saichō: Vow of Uninterrupted Study of the Lotus Sūtra 140
Saichō: Explaining the Precepts 141
The Mahāyāna Precepts in Admonitions of the Fanwang Sūtra 142
Regulations for Students of the Mountain School in Six Articles I 145
Regulations for Students of the Mountain School II 147
Subsequent History of Tendai and Mt. Hiei (Paul Groner) 150
7. Kūkai and Esoteric Buddhism 153
Indications of the Goals of the Three Teachings (Sangō shı̄ki) 157
Kūkai and His Master 162
Encounter with Huiguo 162
Enlightenment in This Bodily Existence 165
The Ten Stages of Religious Consciousness 168
Recapitulation of the Ten Stages of Religious Consciousness 169
A School of Arts and Sciences 170
Regulations for Inviting the Instructors 172
Contents xi
8. The Spread of Esoteric Buddhism 175
Prayer of the Retired Emperor Shirakawa on Offering the Tripit.aka to Hachiman 180
Miracle Tales of the Bodhisattva Jizō (Yoshiko Dykstra) 184
How Mochikata Received a Miraculous Revelation 184
About the ‘‘Malt Jizō’’ of Kanuki in Suruga 185
Sex and Buddhahood—A Shingon Heresy 188
Selections from The Precious Mirror (Hōkyōshō) 188
Prayers for the Shogun 190
Letter of the Monk Mongaku to Shogun Yoriie a.d.1200 190
Annen: Maxims for the Young (Dōjikyō) 193
9. The Vocabulary of Japanese Aesthetics I 197
Murasaki Shikibu: On the Art of Fiction 201
Fujiwara Teika: Introduction to the Guide to the Composition of Poetry 203
part three The Medieval Age: Despair, Deliverance, and Destiny 205
10. Amida, the Pure Land, and the Response of the Old Buddhism to the New 211
Traditional Pure Land Buddhism 217
Genshin: The Essentials of Salvation 217
Innovators of the New Pure Land Buddhism 222
Hōnen: Choosing the Original Vow for the Recitation of the Buddha’s Name (Senchaku hongan nembutsu shū) 222
The One-Page Testament 225
The Lamentation and Self-Reflection of Gutoku Shinran 226
Shinran: A Record in Lament of Divergencies (Tannishō) 227
Rennyo: Rennyo’s Rules 228
Items to Be Prohibited Among True Pure Land Adherents 228
Nembutsu as Gratitude 229
Ippen: Selections from A Hundred Sayings 229
xii contents
The Revival of Earlier Buddhism 231
Myōe: Smashing the Evil Chariot 231
The Meaning of the Kegon Practice of Meditation, Clarity of Insight, and Entry into the Gate of Deliverance 234
Jokei: Gedatsu Shonin’s Petition for Reviving the Precepts 235
11. New Views of History (Paul Varley) 238
Historical Tales (Rekishi monogatari) 240
A Tale of Flowering Fortunes (Eiga monogatari) 242
Fujiwara no Michinaga: Flowering Fortunes 243
The Great Mirror (Ōkagami) 244
Fujiwara no Michinaga: Flowering Fortunes, Continued 246
Medieval Uses of the Past 250
Jien 250
Gukanshō 252
One Hundred Kings 254
Helping Emperors Rule 255
An Appeal to Retired Emperor Go-Toba 256
Kitabatake Chikafusa and the Southern Court 257
The Direct Succession of Gods and Sovereigns (Jinnō shōtōki) 258
Fujiwara and Murakami Genji as Assistants to Emperors 261
On Imperial Restoration 262
12. The Way of the Warrior (Paul Varley) 265
Taira and Minamoto 269
The Tale of Hōgen (Hōgen monogatari) 270
The Night Attack on the Shirakawa Palace 272
The Tale of the Heiji (Heiji monogatari) 274
The Burning of the Sanjō Palace 274
The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari) 276
‘‘The Mighty Fall at Last, They Are Dust Before the Wind’’ 276
Eastern Warriors 277
Contents xiii
The Taira as Courtier-Warriors 278
The Mongol Invasions of Japan 280
The Mongol Scrolls 282
Chronicle of Great Peace (Taiheiki): The Loyalist Heroes 284
13. Nichiren: The Sun and the Lotus (Philip Yampolsky) 292
Nichiren: ‘‘Rectification for the Peace of the Nation’’ (Risshō ankoku ron) 295
The Eye-Opener 299
The True Object of Worship (Kanjin honzon shō) 302
14. Zen Buddhism (William Bodiford) 306
Zen in Japan 308
Eisai: Propagation of Zen for the Protection of the State (Kōzen gokokuron) 311
Zen and Precepts 313
The Darumashū 314
Language 315
Ten Facilities for Zen Monasticism 316
Essentials for Monastics (Shukke taikō) 318
Dōgen: How to Practice Buddhism (Bendōwa) 319
The Fully Apparent Case (Genjō kōan) 325
Buddha Nature (Busshō) 326
Musō Soseki: ‘‘Sermon at the Dedication of Tenryū-ji Dharma Hall’’ (from Musō kokushi goroku) 328
‘‘Reflections on the Enmity Between Go-Daigo and the Shogun, Ashikaga Takauji’’ (from Musō kokushi goroku) 330
Ikkyū Sōjun: The Errant Cloud Collection (Kyōunshū) 332
15. Shinto in Medieval Japan 336
Empress Shōtoku: Edict on the Great Thanksgiving Festival 341
The Miracles of the Kasuga Deity (Royall Tyler) 342
Kōfuku-ji Goes to War in the Eikyū Era 343
Sanetsune 344
xiv contents
Yoshida Kanetomo: Prime Shinto (Allan Grapard) 346
The Lineage of Yuiitsu-Shinto 356
Regulations of Yuiitsu-Shinto 356
Kitabatake Chikafusa: Chronicle of the Direct Descent of Gods and Sovereigns (Jinnō shōtōki) 358
16. The Vocabulary of Japanese Aesthetics II 364
Zeami: Entering the Realm of Yūgen (Donald Keene and Thomas Rimer) 369
Connecting the Arts Through One Intensity of Mind 371
The Nine Stages of the Nō in Order 372
The True Path to the Flower (Shikadō sho) 376
Conversations with Shōtetsu 383
Jakuren’s Poem 385
Kamo no Chōmei: Concerning Mysterious Beauty 387
The Way of Tea (Paul Varley) 388
Drink Tea and Prolong Life 393
Murata Shukō: ‘‘Letter of the Heart’’ 395
The Spiritual Basis of the Tea Ceremony (from Nanpōroku) 396
Purity and Purification in the Tea Ceremony (from Nanpōroku) 397
17. Women’s Education 399
General Preface to Illustrations of the Three Treasures (Edward Kamens) 401
Keisei: A Companion in Solitude (Rajyashree Pandey) 404
Mujū Ichien: Mirror for Women (Robert Morrell) 406
18. Law and Precepts for the Warrior Houses (Paul Varley) 413
The Jōei Code 415
The Law of the Muromachi Shogunate 417
The Kenmu Code 418
The Law of the Warrior Houses in the Age of War in the Provinces 420
The Yūki House Code 423
Precepts of the Warrior Houses 425
House Precepts in the Sengoku Age 427
Contents xv
The ‘‘Seventeen-Article Testament of Asakura Toshikage’’ (Asakura Toshikage jū-shichi-ka-jō) 428
Takeda Nobushige: The ‘‘Ninety-nine-Article Testament’’ 431
19. The Regime of the Unifiers (Jurgis S. A. Elisonas) 433
Oda Nobunaga 441
The Humiliation of the Shogun 441
The Articles of 1570 441
The Remonstrance of 1572 442
The Assault on Mount Hiei and the Blessings of Nobunaga 444
Nobunaga in Echizen 447
Letters from the Battleground 447
Regulations for the Province of Echizen 451
Nobunaga in Azuchi 453
The Proud Tower 453
The Free Market of Azuchi 455
Toyotomi Hideyoshi 458
Domestic Policies 458
The Disarmament of the Populace 458
Regulations for the Municipality of the Honganji 460
Restrictions on Change of Status 461
The Laws and Regulations of the Taikō 463
The Korean War 465
Letter to the King of Korea 465
Korea Day by Day 467
Bibliography 473 Index 481
preface
This volume, part of a series dealing with the civilizations of Japan, China, Korea, India, and Pakistan, contains source readings revealing what the Japa- nese have thought about themselves, the world they lived in, and the problems they faced living together. These readings help provide an understanding of the background of contemporary Japanese civilization, especially as reflected in traditions of thought that remain alive today. Accordingly, we devote much of our attention to the religious and philosophical developments in early times that are still part of the Japanese heritage and affect people’s thinking today. More attention is given to political and social questions ordinary histories of philosophy or religion do not treat. Also, since the arts of Japan have a unique importance in the modern world—indeed, to many people, are the embodi- ment of Japanese civilization—we have made room for a discussion of Japanese aesthetic concepts. Accordingly, we have made brief excursions into theories of literature and dramatic art, even though we cannot hope to take full stock of the arts in a book focused more on society
Western readers attempting to understand Japanese civilization should take care not to assume that one or another of its more striking aspects represents the whole or to select mainly those items that appear important as parallels to developments in the West. To avoid such misconceptions, we have tried to let the Japanese speak for themselves—to let the criteria of selection be those that emerge internally from the dialogue among successive generations of Japanese as they commented on or took issue with one another. At the same time, it is
xviii preface
true that this process has been repeatedly influenced by external challenges. Thus the traditions represented here reflect their continued interactions with other developments in continental Asia and, in modern times, with the West. ‘‘Tradition’’ as represented here is therefore a hybrid growth—diverse, dynamic, and complex rather than monolithic or unchanging.
Another requirement of a book such as this is to achieve balance and per- spective. It is unlikely that we have succeeded completely in doing this, but knowing our aim, critical readers will at least understand why we have spread ourselves so thin over the length and breadth of Japanese history and civilization and have dealt summarily with subjects that might call for more extended treat- ment or for contextualization in greater detail. To a limited extent, we have tried to explain the circumstances that prompted or conditioned these writings and have included more historical and explanatory material in some cases than in others, but those readers not familiar with Japanese history who seek a fuller historical and institutional background may do well to supplement this text by reading a general or cultural history along with it. Given the limitations of an introductory text, we have not sought the coverage of an intellectual history or tried to deal with every thinker or movement of importance but, instead, have selected examples that we think best illustrate the relation of divergent currents to the mainstreams of Japanese thought or that indicate the relevance of intel- lectual and religious attitudes toward the most persistent problems of Japanese society. In the modern period, for instance, we have bypassed some of the more obvious examples of either Western influence or apparent Japanese idiosyncrasy in favor of others better illustrating trends or tendencies of central importance. Thus, when describing recent trends, we have often focused on persons active in public life or organized political movements, close to the great events of their time, rather than intellectuals or scholars in the narrow sense.
These readings were originally compiled in the 1950s and based on a series of essays and translations prepared by Ryusaku Tsunoda, for many years the cu- rator of the Japanese collection at Columbia University and a lecturer on Jap- anese religion and thought. In this second edition, these readings have been considerably supplemented, revised, and adapted. In the process we have solic- ited, and benefited from, the collaboration of others who have contributed their expertise in special fields.
This series was originally produced in the 1950s in connection with the Columbia College General Education Program in Oriental Studies, which was encouraged and supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. For the wide use of these sources over the years since then, we would like to acknowl- edge the debt owed to Deans Harry J. Carman and Lawrence H. Chamberlain of Columbia College. Their foresight and leadership were responsible for the progress toward a goal long sought by members of the Columbia College fac- ulty, who even before World War II recognized the need for the college’s core curriculum to include other world civilizations.
explanatory note
The consonants of Japanese words or names are read as in English (with ‘‘g’’ always hard) and the vowels as in Italian. There are no silent letters. The name Abe, for instance, is pronounced ‘‘Ah-bay.’’ The long vowels ‘‘ō’’ and ‘‘ū’’ are indicated except in the names of cities already well known in the West, such as Tokyo and Kyoto. All romanized terms have been standardized according to the Hepburn system for Japanese, pin-yin for Chinese, and the McCune-Reis- chauer for Korean. Chinese philosophical terms used in Japanese texts are given in their Japanese readings (e.g., ri instead of li for ‘‘principle,’’ ‘‘reason’’) except where attention is specifically drawn to the Chinese original. Sanskrit words appearing in italics follow the standard system of transliteration found in Louis Renou’s Grammaire sanskrite (Paris 1930), pp. xi–xiii. Sanskrit terms and names appearing in roman letters follow Webster’s New International Dictionary, sec- ond edition unabridged, except that a macron is used to indicate long vowels and the Sanskrit symbols for ś (ç) are uniformly transcribed as ‘‘sh’’ in the text itself. Personal names also are spelled in this manner except when they occur in the titles of works.
Japanese names are given in their Japanese order, with the family name first and the personal name last. The dates given after personal names are those of birth and death except in the case of rulers, whose reign dates are preceded by ‘‘r.’’ Generally, the name by which a person was most commonly known in
xx explanatory note
Japanese tradition is the one used in the text. Since this book is intended for general readers rather than specialists, we have not burdened the text with a list of the alternative names or titles that usually accompany biographical references to a scholar in Chinese or Japanese historical works. For the same reason, the sources of translations given at the end of each selection are as concise as possible. There is a complete bibliography at the end of the book.
Contributors are identified with their work in the table of contents; unat- tributed chapters are the responsibility of the editors. Unless otherwise indi- cated, in the reference at the end of each selection, the author of the book is the writer whose name precedes the selection. The initials following the source citation are those of the translator or the compiler of the section. Excerpts from existing translations have often been adapted and edited to suit our purposes. In particular, we have removed unnecessary brackets and footnotes and have inserted essential commentary in the text whenever possible rather than add a footnote. Those interested in the full text and annotations may, of course, refer to the original translation cited with each such excerpt. As sources for our own translations, we have tried to use standard editions that would be available to other scholars.
W. T. de B.
contributors
Identified by initials following original translations
YD Yoshiko Dykstra: Kansai Gaidai University JSAE Jurgis S. A. Elisonas, Indiana University AG Allan Grapard, University of California, Santa Barbara PG Paul Groner, University of Virginia EK Edward Kamens, Yale University JPL Jeroen Pieter Lamers, Royal Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs RM Robert Morrell, Washington University in St. Louis RP Rajyashree Pandey, La Trobe University TR Thomas Rimer, University of Pittsburgh DS Daniel Stevenson, University of Kansas GT George Tanabe, University of Hawaii, Manoa RT Royall Tyler, Australian National University TH Tsay Heng-ting, Columbia University PV Paul Varley, University of Hawaii, Manoa
chronological table
First century b.c.e.
First reference to Japan (called land of Wa) in Chinese dynastic histories.
c.e. 57 Envoy from country of Nu in land of Wa makes tributary visit to Han court. First exact date concerning Wa in dynastic histories.
239 Envoy sent by Queen Himiko of Yamatai in land of Wa to Wei court.
538 Recognized as date for formal introduction of Buddhism to Japan. 562 Kingdom of Silla destroys Mimana, Japanese enclave at tip of
Korean Peninsula (present-day Korean scholars disclaim existence of such an enclave).
592–628 Reign of Empress Suiko. Prince Shōtoku serves as regent. 600 First Japanese embassy to Sui Court. 604 Prince Shōtoku’s Seventeen-Article Constitution. First official use
in Japan of Chinese calendar. 630 First Japanese embassy to Tang court. 645 Taika reform. 668 Tenchi becomes emperor, Silla unifies Korea. 672 Tenmu becomes emperor after armed succession dispute (Jinshin
War).
xxiv chronological table
702 Promulgation of Taihō Code.
Nara Period 710 Establishment of first permanent capital at Nara. 712 Records of Ancient Matters (Kojiki). 720 Chronicles of Japan (Nihongi or Nihon shoki). 741 Copies of Golden Light Sūtra distributed to all provinces. 751 Kaifūsō (Fond Recollections of Poetry), first collection of Chinese
verse by Japanese poets. 752 Dedication of Great Buddha (Daibutsu) at Tōdaiji Temple in
Nara. 754 Chinese monk Ganjin arrives in Japan and establishes ordination
center at Tōdaiji. c. 759 Compilation of Man’yōshū (Collection of a Myriad Generations),
oldest anthology of waka (or tanka) poetry. 764 Empress Kōken reascends throne as Empress Shōtoku; appoints
priest Dōkyō as prime minister. 770 Death of Empress Shōtoku and fall of Dōkyō from power. 781 Kanmu becomes emperor. 788 Saichō founds Enryakuji Temple on Mt. Hiei.
Heian Period 794 Court moves capital to Heian (Kyoto). 805 Saichō returns from study in China. 806 Kūkai returns from study in China. 815 New Compilation of the Register of Families (Shinsen shōjiroku). 816 Kōyasan Monastery founded by Kūkai. 817 Saichō codifies regulations for monks at Enryakuji Temple on Mt.
Hiei. 838 Last official mission to Tang China. 847 Ennin returns from China to found Tendai esotericism in Japan. 858 Beginning of Fujiwara regency at court. Enchin returns from
China and founds study center at Miidera Temple. 905 Kokinshū (Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems), first impe-
rially authorized anthology of waka (or tanka) poetry. 972 Death of Kūya, early popularizer of devotion to Amida Buddha. c. 990–1020 Classical age of Japanese court prose: Tale of Genji, Pillow Book,
Izumi Shikibu Diary, Honchō monzui (Chinese prose by Japa- nese).
Chronological Table xxv
1017 Death of Genshin, author of Essentials of Salvation. 1068 Accession of Emperor Go-Sanjō and beginning of attempt to curb
power of Fujiwara regents. 1086 Abdication of Emperor Shirakawa and commencement of age of
ascendancy of senior retired emperors at court (1086–1156). 1132 Death of Ryōnin, early popularizer of Pure Land Buddhism. 1156 Beginning of rise to power at court of Taira warrior family under
Kiyomori. 1180–1185 Minamoto-Taira (Genpei) War. Victory of Minamoto.
Kamakura Period 1185 De facto founding of Kamakura Shogunate by Minamoto Yori-
tomo. 1191 Eisai (Yōsai), founder of Rinzai branch of Zen sect, returns from
second trip to China; introduces tea to Japan. 1192 Yoritomo receives title of shogun. 1205 Beginning of rise to power of Hōjō as shogunal regents. 1212 Death of Hōnen. 1220 Gukanshō by Jien. 1223 Dōgen, founder of Sōtō branch of Zen sect, goes to China. 1232 Jōei shikimoku (basic law code of Kamakura Shogunate). 1260 Nichiren first predicts a foreign invasion. 1262 Death of Shinran, founder of True Pure Land sect. 1268 Nichiren warns of impending Mongol invasion. 1271 Nichiren sentenced to death, escapes, and is banished. 1274 First Mongol invasion. 1281 Second Mongol invasion. 1289 Death of Ippen, popularizer of Amida cult. 1325 At suggestion of Zen master Musō Soseki, Emperor Go-Daigo
sends first official embassy to China since Tang dynasty. c. 1331 Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa). 1333 Overthrow of Kamakura Shogunate. Beginning of Kenmu Res-
toration (1333–1336).
Muromachi (Ashikaga) Period 1336 De facto founding of Muromachi Shogunate in Kyoto by Ashikaga
Takauji. Beginning of period of War Between Northern and Southern Courts (1336–1392).
1338 Takauji receives title of shogun.
xxvi chronological table
1339 Chronicle of the Direct Succession of Divine Sovereigns (Jinnō shō- tōki) by Kitabatake Chikafusa.
1368 Ashikaga Yoshimitsu becomes shogun; fosters diplomatic and trade relations with China.
1384 Death of Kan’ami, early master of Nō drama. 1443 Death of Zeami, greatest master of Nō drama. 1467–1477 Ōnin War. Much of Kyoto destroyed. 1478 Commencement of Age of War in Provinces (Sengoku, 1478–
1568). 1488 Death of Nisshin, evangelizer of Nichiren sect. 1499 Death of Rennyo, leader of True Pure Land sect. 1511 Death of Yoshida Kanetomo of the ‘‘Primal Shinto’’ movement. 1543 Portugese merchants land on Tanegashima—first Europeans to
visit Japan. Introduce European guns (arqubuses). 1549 St. Francis Xavier arrives in Japan and founds Jesuit mission. 1568 Oda Nobunaga enters Kyoto and begins process of military uni-