The incipient Shingon school in the early Heian pe-
riod of the ninth century grew rapidly due largely to
the adoption by the royal court of esoteric Buddhist
rituals for performing diverse ceremonies, especially
the rites for the emperor’s coronation, legitimation,
and empowerment. The Shingon school also built an
alliance with the schools of NARABUDDHISM, which
found Shingon’s orientation toward ritual studies
complementary to their doctrinal, text-based study of
Buddhism. Tonain’in subtemple at Todaiji was estab-
lished in 875 as a center for the combined study of the
Shingon and Sanron schools by the monk Shobo(832–
909). In the mid-Heian period (tenth and eleventh
centuries), new centers of Shingon ritual studies, such
as Daikakuji, Kajuji, Ninnaji, and Daigoji, in the vicin-
ity of the Heiankyo(Kyoto), were founded by the em-
perors and members of the imperial family. Shingon
monks at these monasteries vied with one another in
developing sophisticated and complex theories and
practice of esoteric rituals to better serve the imperial
court and the aristocracy. Ningai (951–1045) is cele-
brated for his rainmaking ritual, which is said to have
been used during the great droughts of 1015 and 1018,
and on nine other occasions. These developments dur-
ing the Heian period were important in forming the
Shingon school’s strong orientation in ritual studies. By
the end of the period, thirty-six ritual lineages within
Shingon had been established, with each lineage hold-
ing its own distinct claim for its dharma transmission.
The study of Shingon doctrine developed only from
the latter part of the Heian period. Kakuban (1094–
1143) was the first to develop a systematic interpreta-
tion of Kukai’s doctrinal works. During the Kamakura
period (1185–1333), Kakukai (1142–1223), Dohan
(1178–1252), Raibo(1279–1330), and other scholar-
monks of Mount Koya and Toji, two institutions
founded by Kukai, took the lead in developing a gamut
of doctrinal treatises and exegeses on the essential
scriptures of the Shingon school. Raiyu (1226–1304)
inherited Kakuban’s scholarship and founded Mount
Negoro Monastery as another major center for Shin-
gon doctrinal studies. Negoro later developed into the
headquarters of the Shingi Shingon school, which was
largely responsible for the spread of Shingon into the
provinces of eastern Japan in the medieval and early
modern periods.
During this period the spread of numerous legends
depicting Kukai as a charismatic, miracle-making sav-
ior further raised the prestige of Mount Koya and Toji.
The alliance of the Shingon school with the Nara Bud-
dhist schools continued to grow. It was often the
scholar-monks of the Nara monasteries whose com-
bined mastery of Shingon gave rise to the most inno-
vative use of the knowledge of esotericism; they
include Hossomaster Jokei (1155–1213), Kegon mas-
ter Myoe KOBEN(1173–1232), and Shingon-ritsu nun
Shinnyo (1211– ?). Master Eizon of Saidaiji
(1201–1290) and his disciple Ninjo(1217–1303) are
particularly renowned for saving beggars, lepers, and
outcasts. This was also the time in which kami,the lo-
cal Japanese gods, became integral within the esoteric
Buddhist pantheon, playing the role of the guardians
of Buddhism. Eizon’s esoteric Buddhist ritual service
in 1281 at Iwashimizu, where the god HACHIMANis
enshrined, was praised by the court, the warrior gov-
ernment, and the masses for its claimed power to pro-
tect the nation from the Mongol invasion.Political turmoil during the Muromachi and Sen-
goku periods (1333–1600) significantly weakened the
institutional and economic foundation of the Shingon
monastaries. However, the influence of Shingon on
late medieval culture and art, especially in Japanese po-
etry and poetics, remained essential. A significant
number of celebrated wakaand rengapoets of the pe-
riod, including Shinkei (1406–1475) and Sogi (1421–
1502), were esoteric Buddhists. In the early modern
period, the religious policy of the Tokugawa shogunate
prohibited Buddhists from studying more than one
discipline. Thus, one significant characteristic of Shin-
gon since inception—its combined study with exoteric
schools—ceased, and the Shingon school was reduced
to a sectarian institution. The forceful separation of the
worship of local gods from Buddhism and the creation
of Shinto as the official religion of the nation by the
Meiji government deprived Shingon of another im-
portant quality. In 1868 the Shingon ritual was elimi-
nated from the emperor’s coronation ceremony, and
the esoteric ritual lost its relevance to the official busi-
ness of the state. At the beginning of the twenty-first
century, Shingon continues to exist as an affiliation of
eighteen independent subschools—the largest among
them are the Mount Koya school, the Chizan school,
and the Busan school. However, with its sophisticated
symbolism of visual signs and representations that are
grounded in unique semiotic and linguistic theories,
Shingon continues to exert its influence on modern and
contemporary Japanese art, literature, and philosophy.See also:Exoteric-Esoteric (Kenmitsu) Buddhism in
Japan; Japan; Japanese Royal Family and Buddhism;
Kamakura Buddhism, JapanSHINGONBUDDHISM, JAPAN