Kūya
Encyclopedia
Kūya(903-972) was an itinerant Japanese priest who, along with Genshin
and Jakushin, was an early promoter of the practice of the nembutsu amongst the common people in order to attain salvation and entry into the Pure land
of Amida
. The movement gained in strength during the Heian period
as a reaction against the worldly and military character of the established temples during the age of Mappō
.
Said to have been of aristocratic or imperial descent, Kūya was a Tendai
Upāsaka
but departed from Mount Hiei
and proselytized the nembutsu in Kyoto
and the provinces, gaining the name ichi hijiri (holy man of the marketplace) and Amida hijiri. Kūya took images with him on his travels and added musical rhythm and dance to his prayers, known as odori
nembutsu. Like Gyōki
, he is said to have performed works for the public benefit such as building roads and bridges, digging wells, and burying abandoned corpses.
Biographies of Kūya were written by his friends and followers Jakushin and Minamoto
-no-Tamenori, and Number 18 of the Ryōjin Hishō
derives from 'Kūya's Praise'. The late tenth-century collection of biographies of those who had attained rebirth in the Pure Land, the Nihon ōjō gokuraki ki, attributes to Kūya the devotion of all Japan to the nembutsu. He is also known as founder of Rokuharamitsu-ji
.
Genshin
Genshin , also known as Eshin Sozu, was the most influential of a number of Tendai scholars active during the tenth and eleventh centuries in Japan...
and Jakushin, was an early promoter of the practice of the nembutsu amongst the common people in order to attain salvation and entry into the Pure land
Pure land
A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
of Amida
Amitabha
Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...
. The movement gained in strength during the Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
as a reaction against the worldly and military character of the established temples during the age of Mappō
Mappo
The Latter Day of the Law, is one of the Three Ages of Buddhism. Mappō or Mofa , which is also translated as the Age of Dharma Decline, is the "degenerate" Third Age of Buddhism.- Tradition :...
.
Said to have been of aristocratic or imperial descent, Kūya was a Tendai
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...
Upāsaka
Upasaka
Upāsaka or Upāsikā are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, and who undertake certain vows...
but departed from Mount Hiei
Mount Hiei
is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga prefectures, Japan.The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tiantai sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by Saichō in 788. Both Nichiren and Honen studied at the temple before...
and proselytized the nembutsu in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
and the provinces, gaining the name ichi hijiri (holy man of the marketplace) and Amida hijiri. Kūya took images with him on his travels and added musical rhythm and dance to his prayers, known as odori
Japanese traditional dance
There are two types of Japanese traditional dance: Odori, which originated in the Edo period, and Mai, which originated in the western part of Japan. Odori grew out of Kabuki drama and is more oriented toward male sentiments. Mai is traditionally performed in Japanese rooms instead of on the stage...
nembutsu. Like Gyōki
Gyoki
was a Japanese Buddhist priest of the Nara period, born in Ōtori county, Kawachi Province , to family of Korean Baekje descent. Gyōki became a monk at Asuka-dera temple in Nara at the age of 15, and studied under master Dōshō as one of his first pupils. Gyōki studied Yogacara , a core doctrine of...
, he is said to have performed works for the public benefit such as building roads and bridges, digging wells, and burying abandoned corpses.
Biographies of Kūya were written by his friends and followers Jakushin and Minamoto
Minamoto clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...
-no-Tamenori, and Number 18 of the Ryōjin Hishō
Ryojin Hisho
The is an anthology of imayō 今様 songs. Originally it consisted of two collections joined together by Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa: the Kashishū 歌詞集 and the Kudenshū 口伝集. Only a fragment of this work is still extant....
derives from 'Kūya's Praise'. The late tenth-century collection of biographies of those who had attained rebirth in the Pure Land, the Nihon ōjō gokuraki ki, attributes to Kūya the devotion of all Japan to the nembutsu. He is also known as founder of Rokuharamitsu-ji
Rokuharamitsu-ji
is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Founded by Kūya in 951, the Hondō was burned during the wars at the end of the Heian period. Its replacement of 1363, damaged during the Meiji period, was restored in 1969...
.