. godai’in annen 773
doctrines of conversion (i.e., Tripitakạ , shared , distinctive
, and perfect ). By creating a place for esoteric Buddhism at the
top of the structure, Annen once again posited its superiority vis-à-
vis the Tiantai continental system, and at the same time provided a
comprehensive taxonomy that was suitable to the needs of the Tendai
lineages in Japan. Sectarian scholars of the Tokugawa period would
note the heretical nature of Annen’s operation, which not only dis-
missed a model going back to Zhiyi but also effectively ignored the
fundamental identity of Lotus-based Tendai and esoteric Buddhism
established by the founder of Tendai in Japan, Saichō (Shanagō gaku-
soku, T. 2419.77:276a; Ōkubo Ryōshun 2008, 64–65).
In fact, the identity of the perfect and esoteric teachings (emitsu
itchi ) was more an ideal to strive for than an accomplish-
ment of Taimitsu lineages. The Kyōjigi, to an even higher degree than
Ennin and Enchin’s works, demonstrates that for Taimitsu scholiasts
esoteric Buddhism surpasses all other kinds of exoteric Buddhism,
including Tendai (kenretsu misshō ). Reiterating Ennin’s
distinctive definition of the esoteric (riji gumitsu ), Annen
characterized the Lotus Sūtra as an “abbreviated explanation” (ryaku-
setsu ) that elucidated only the principle (ri ) of esotericism,
whereas the esoteric scriptures were “comprehensive explanations”
(kōsetsu ) that clarified both its practice and principle ( jiri )
(T. 2398.75:590).
However, to support his totalizing construction of Taimitsu, Annen
also established precise correlations between doctrines and practices
of continental Tendai and esoteric Buddhism, and this was to have
consequences for the later understanding of fundamental esoteric con-
cepts. For instance, he demonstrated that the notion of an interre-
lated reality that Tiantai crystallized in the interpenetration of the ten
worlds (jikkai gogu) was embodied in the two esoteric mandalas by
creating a correspondence between each section of the mandala and
each of the ten realms. In this way, he visualized and concretized the
identity of the Buddha in his Dharma body with sentient beings in the
esoteric locale par excellence, the mandala (e.g., T. 2397.75:526c–527a;
Asai Endō 1973, 661–66; Dolce 2002).
Ritual Accomplishment: The Yugikyōsho
Among the writings that Annen devoted to the ritual dimension of
Taimitsu, the Commentary on the Yuqi jing (more properly known as
its abbreviated title, Yugikyō shugyōhō) is significant in that it discusses