782 james l. ford
perhaps just a few prominent examples will suffice to illustrate this
phenomenon.
Shōbō (832–909), a Shingon scholar-monk known for advocating
the unity of exoteric and esoteric teachings, is also well known for his
writings on Sanron doctrine. He studied Sanron at Gangōji as well
as Hossō and Kegon doctrines at Tōdaiji. Shinkō (934–1004) studied
Yuishiki ( “consciousness only,” Yogācāra) and Buddhist logic at
Kōfukuji and later studied mikkyō. He is well known for attempting
perhaps the first synthesis between Hossō and mikkyō thought. Shunjō
(1116–1227), who traveled to China to study the vinaya and helped
restore the Ritsu school in Japan, was first trained in the esoteric tra-
dition of the Tendai school. Shōken (1138–1196), uncle of the Hossō
scholar-monk Jōkei discussed below, trained in the Shingon tradition
at Daigoji, where he attained the rank of head priest. He later held
ranking positions at Kōyasan and Tōji, but also served as the superin-
tendent (bettō) at Tōdaiji, head temple of the Kegon school. Another
of Jōkei’s uncles, Myōhen (1142–1224) was ordained at Tōdaiji but
later studied on Kōyasan. Jippan (d. 1144), Myōe (1173–1232), and
Eison (1201–1290) could also be cited here but they are discussed in
detail below. Though these are but a few examples among many, they
amply illustrate the permeable interface between the Nara schools and
their Shingon counterparts.
Kuroda’s Kenmitsu Theory
The spread of esoteric thought and practice that began during the Nara
period, as we have seen, continued unabated through the first centu-
ries of the Heian era, distinguished primarily by the broad acceptance
of Kūkai’s exoteric/esoteric taxonomic discourse. Kuroda Toshio,
widely influential through his studies of the social, political, and reli-
gious milieu of the medieval period, labeled this integrated system of
esoteric and exoteric practice kenmitsu taisei (exo-esoteric
system). This label connoted two somewhat different meanings in
Kuroda’s work (Taira 1996). The first, directly related to this essay,
referred “to the system of coexistence between the exoteric and eso-
teric teachings” that were synthesized or at least coexisted within the
eight officially recognized schools during the Heian era (i.e., the six
Nara schools along with Shingon and Tendai) (Kuroda 1994, 75). In
other instances, Kuroda uses kenmitsu taisei to refer to a system that
united the kenmitsu sects with the state power structure. Exploring
this religio-political dimension, while interesting, would carry us well