748 lucia dolce
were moved from Mt. Hiei to areas close to the capital. Shōren-in
was noteworthy for its political and religious influence through-
out the premodern era. Jien , the younger brother of Regent
Kujō Kanezane, was its third abbot (Inaba 2004). Historically, the
Shōren-in continued the Sanmai branch of Taimitsu. Also notewor-
thy is the Sanzen-in , later located in Ōhara, which represented
the Nashimoto branch. Finally the Tendai center in the Kantō area,
Rinnōji, was a prestigious monzeki of the Edo period. It was developed
by Tenkai (1536?–1643) and known as Nikkō Monzeki
(or Miyasama Goryū ), and it inherited the tradition of
the Hōman-ryū lineage.
State of the Field
The Place of Taimitsu in the History of East Asian Tantrism:
A Forgotten Tradition?
Although Taimitsu scholar-monks influenced Shingon thought and
played a significant role in the development of tantric Buddhism in
Japan, they have received only passing mention in the narratives of
tantrism, and their esoteric tradition also remains largely unknown to
specialists of Japanese Buddhism. Yet Ennin and Annen wrote
the first extensive commentaries on tantric canonical sources, such as
the Jin’gangding jing, the Putixin lun, and the Yuqi jing, all of which
would be used by the competing lineages. Enchin initiated the cult
of Fudō Myōō (Acala[-natha] Vidyārāja), still considered
today perhaps the most important tantric deity, and Annen wrote the
first substantial work in the study of Siddham.
The secondary place given to Taimitsu is even more surprising con-
sidering the political role that esoteric rituals played in the growth of
the Tendai school. Curiously, Taimitsu scholiasts are better known for
other aspects of their activities. Ennin is remembered for his journey
to China, of which his record serves as a major historical document
of the Chinese contemporary political and religious situation. Of the
medieval scholiasts, Jien, the aristocratic cleric who was four times
Tendai zasu, is known for his historical chronicle the Gukanshō. As
well, he was a prominent ritualist, in charge of the nightly rites for the
protection of the emperor (gojisō ), and the compiler of new
interpretations of Taimitsu liturgies. Another remarkable case is that
of Yōsai, initiator of a Taimitsu lineage and a fine interpreter of the
combinatory system that Taimitsu developed, who is instead known as
the founder of Japanese Zen. (See Mano, “Yōsai”, in this volume.)