- the deity of miwa and tendai esoteric thought 859
became a widespread belief at Hieizan), and the role of the Sannō deity
as a protective deity of Mt. Tiantai in China and the doctrine of Three
Points (Santen ). More important was that this text contained a
passage that established the paramount role of the kami of Miwa as
the propagator of the Lotus Sūtra and as one of the three protective
deities of Mahāyāna. It also established a parallel between the deities
of Sannō and Miwa: both manifested themselves as “three Buddhas in
one body” (sansei ittai ). This passage received wide circula-
tion in later works about kami produced by the Tendai literati.
The subsequent medieval works, produced at Hieizan, such as the
Sange Yōryakki (1289–1351), and the Keiran shūyōshū
(1347), attributed the production of most esoteric theo-
ries about the kami of Miwa to Zentōin It was one of the
main temples at Hieizan, established by Ennin in the vicinity of the
Konponchūdō of Enryakuji. The influence of ideas and practices
attributed to the Zentōin circle seem to have special significance for
the development of esoteric lore about Miwa and the emergence of
esoteric ritual that incorporated the worship of the Miwa deity. The
perception of Ennin’s ideas and the activities at Zentōin for the devel-
opment of esoteric kami worship in medieval Japan still needs further
assessment.
Back to Miwa
The theory that the Miwa deity had been transferred to Hieizan was
undoubtedly very important for the Tendai establishment, and it was
repeated in many documents compiled in the late Kamakura and early
Muromachi periods. Although different versions of the enshrinement
of the Ōbie deity exist, they clearly express the idea of Saichō’s direct
involvement. With the growth of Enryakuji and the expansion of its
influence, these accounts became widely accepted.^9
By the end of the Heian period, worship of the Miwa deity on Hiei-
zan, both by Tendai monks and within the Hie shrines, was insepa-
rable from the ritual and symbolic system of the Tendai shrine-temple
complex. Writings concerning the origins of the Hie shrines and the
(^9) For example, the story of Saichō in Miwa was given in a critical literary work by
the poet Kenshō , the Notes in the Sleeve, (1183) (OJS 1: 334).