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for his mass precept ceremonies, which were said to have assembled
as many as 340,055 people (Ueda Reijō 1979, 8). Jōgon is reputed also
for his rigorously evidential study of ritual manuals^7 and his studies
of Siddham, which led to the publication of his major study on Sid-
dham, the Shittan Sanmitsushō ,^8 a text that would prove
to be influential both within and outside Buddhist circles.^9 His study of
Sanskrit was an integral part of his vision of the superiority of esoteric
Buddhism over exoteric Buddhism. While exoteric Buddhism viewed
language as a limited tool that could only point toward but never cap-
ture the ultimate truth,^10 esoteric Buddhism introduced a ritual science
involving language that aimed at realizing the original unity of nirvana
and samsara.^11
Jōgon was representative of the intellectual trends of his day, which
were focused on the restoration of ancient thought, as were such Con-
fucian scholars as Itō Jinsai (1627–1705),^12 Itō Tōgai
the extent of the degeneration of the dharma—the true way declines. There is too
much to lament! It is not enough just to be sad! What regret....(^7) The aim within Japanese Shingon esoteric Buddhism is to realize buddhahood in
this body via the ritual practices for body, speech, and mind. Central to these ritual
practices are knowledge of mandalas, mudrās, and mantras. The correct methods were
transmitted orally and in manuals, both of which multiplied in number since Kūkai’s
time. The few manuals produced by Kūkai are found in the Kōbō Daishi Zenshū
, but the great majority of ritual manuals and records of oral transmis-
sions extant today come from the Ono and Hirosawa traditions and are mostly the
products of great scholars after Kūkai. Jōgon spent much of his life researching the
oral transmissions and manuals of the medieval scholars, correcting mistakes in this
inherited knowledge. Ekō (1666–1734), who was to become the head of Reiunji
after Jōgon, recalled that “all the hairs on my body stood up” when he heard Jōgon’s
explanation of ritual manuals at Tamonin in Edo at the age of twenty-one. The radical
evidential method that Jōgon employed, which countered the tradition of face-to-face
transmission, caused this dramatic response. Ekō further notes that Jōgon’s publishing
activities, through which he actively sought to introduce the laity to Shingon teachings
through vernacular texts, elicited the remonstrance of authorities at Mt. Kōya (see
Ueda Reijō 1979, 9). 8
As a result of Jōgon’s activities, the traditional Siddham primer, the Shittan Jiki,
became a popular object of lectures. Jōgon is also known for his Siddham-Chinese
dictionary.
(^9) Keichū, Norinaga, and Jiun had all read Jōgon’s Shittan Sanmitsushō.
(^10) This discussion gives a generalized overview of the distinction between esoteric
and exoteric Buddhist views of language. For more nuance, see Abé 1999; Murphy
2009.
(^11) His discussions of exoteric and esoteric Buddhism reflect the influence of
Kakuban’s (1095–1143) writings (Ueda 1979, 10).
(^12) Itō Jinsai was an early Edo-period Confucian scholar and educator who founded
the Kogigaku (Study of Ancient Meaning) school, which is considered part of the
Kogaku (Ancient Learning) school. He was skeptical of the Zhu Xi interpretation of