(1053–1129) established magnificent temples and
multiple stupas as expressions of his grace, and his
son Toba (1103–1156)—on better terms with the
Fujiwaras—established the Shokomyo’in chapel and
treasury (hozo) near Kyoto, housing a Buddhist scrip-
tural collection and other treasures in apparent imi-
tation of the Fujiwara chapel Byodo’in, also near
Kyoto, which similarly featured an Amidist sanctuary
and a scriptural treasury (kyozo). This “royal culture”
of powerful aristocrats and cloistered sovereigns, par-
ticularly with its emphasis on demonstrating largess
and religious devotion as well as an increasing interest
in acquiring knowledge of esoteric Buddhism—and
influence over the clerical appointment system—was
one of the primary factors that influenced Tendai and
Shingon monks and temples of the medieval era. Un-
der this influence, Buddhists increasingly sought to
produce large iconographic collections (the first, Zuzo
sho[ca. 1135–1141], was reputedly produced by order
of Toba), to establish large treasuries of scriptures and
other objects, and to specialize in particular tantric
rites (shuho) of concern to the royal family.
Buddhist accession rites and Shinto
Moreover, during the same period, particularly in the
O’muro at Ninnaji, the enriching of esoteric Buddhist
teachings with worship of native deities produced
novel teachings and ritual practices that attempted to
confer legitimacy on the ruler, and were later referred
to as GoryuShinto. At the latest, by Go-Uda’s acces-
sion (late thirteenth century), the ruler often under-
went an esoteric Buddhist consecration rite (sokui
kanjo) as part of the accession process. The initiation
of retired tenno Go-Daigo in the fourteenth century
into what would later be deemed the “controversial”
Tachikawa line of Shingon was, indeed, an elaboration
of this trend. Moreover, the first use of the term Shin-
to was established in and through the so-called ken-
mitsuinstitutions of Shingon and Tendai. Even the
emphasis on the three royal regalia was forged in the
milieu of those institutions to legitimize royal rule
amidst the impending split into rival lines: The jewel
(magatama) was newly emphasized and was com-
monly compared to the wish-fulfilling jewel and Bud-
dha relics of the treasuries of esoteric temples such as
the Shingon temple Toji.
In spite of the rising prominence of nativist schol-
ars such as Motoori Norinaga (1730–1801), the royal
family remained devoted Buddhists until the Meiji
restoration in 1868, when mid-level samurai returned
the Japanese government from Tokugawa warrior rule
to royal rule in the name of the tenno.Rituals such as
the Latter Seven-Day Rite were no longer held in the
palace, and any public relationship between the royal
family and the Buddhist community was dissolved—a
government policy that has continued to the present.See also:As ́oka; Meiji Buddhist Reform; Nationalism
and Buddhism; Politics and Buddhism; TachikawaryuBibliography
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Uwayokote Masataka. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2001.BRIANO. RUPPERTJATAKAJatakais the Sanskrit and Pali term for a particular
genre of Buddhist literature. A jataka is a story in which
one of the characters—usually the hero—is identified
as a previous birth of the historical Buddha, generally
appearing as a man, a deity, or one of the higher ani-JATAKA