(753?–781?) was by most accounts a daughter of the court noble Fujiwara no Toyonari

Fujiwara no Toyonari

was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Nara period.-Career:Toyonari served as a minister during the reigns of Emperor Shōmu, Empress Kōken, Emperor Junnin and Empress Shōtoku....

 who escaped persecution at the hands of her stepmother by becoming a nun at the Taima-dera

Taima-dera

Taima-dera is a Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan built originally in 612 by the Imperial Prince Maroko, the brother of Prince Shotoku. The temple was moved to its present location in 681 by the grandson of Prince Maroko, and serves as the head temple, or honzan of the now-defunct Hosso sect...

 in Nara

Nara, Nara

is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...

. There she took on the name Zenshin-ni or the Dharma name Honyo (法如). She has become a folk hero

Folk hero

A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...

ine, the subject of numerous Japanese folktales

Japanese folklore

The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami , yōkai , yūrei ,...

 which celebrate her filial piety. She is sometimes called the Japanese Cinderella

Cinderella

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...

.

Folklore

She is said to be the daughter of an imperial minister of the Fujiwara

Fujiwara family

The Fujiwara clan , descending from the Nakatomi clan, was a powerful family of regents in Japan.The clan originated when the founder, Nakatomi no Kamatari , was rewarded by Emperor Tenji with the honorific "Fujiwara", which evolved as a surname for Kamatari and his descendants...

 clan and a royal princess. Different stories disagree on her date of birth: most place it in the 8th century, during Emperor Shōmu

Emperor Shomu

was the 45th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 723.-Traditional narrative:...

's reign, and suggest she was the daughter of Fujiwara no Toyonari; however, a few state she was the daughter of Fujiwara no Toyoshige, a century earlier. It is said that the childless couple had appealed to Kannon and been granted a daughter in exchange for the life of one parent. When Chūjō-hime is three, therefore, her mother dies; her father subsequently remarries.

In some versions of the story, her stepmother then orders her taken into the mountains and abandoned to die. In others, she remains at home and makes copies of the Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 sutra

Sutra

Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...

s for her mother's salvation, and this devotion earns the enmity of her stepmother. In either case, she is rescued by the Buddhist nuns of Taima-dera and becomes a nun herself. As a nun, she lives an austere and meditative life, and comes to be known as a "living Buddha." She is credited with inventing the art of embroidery

Embroidery

Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....

 during this time.

Chūjō-hime is credited with weaving the Lotus Thread, Taima Mandala

Taima Mandala

The Taima Mandala is a mandala in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. The original copy of the mandala is still housed in the Taima-dera temple in Nara, Japan, and was woven approximately around 763. The mandala is appointed as a national treasure of Japan on April 27, 1961. Many copies have been made...

, a mandala

Mandala

Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...

 depicting the cosmography of 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...

. It is said that she managed this miracle

Miracle

A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...

 in a single night. Some versions of the story say that she was aided in the task by an apparition of Amida Butsu

Amitabha

Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...

 in response to her prayers. Other beliefs hold that she was herself an incarnation of Kannon.

In popular culture

There is a 1911 short silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

, starring Matsunosuke Onoe

Matsunosuke Onoe

, sometimes known as Medama no Matchan , was a Japanese actor. His birth name is Tsuruzo Nakamura. He is sometimes credited as Yukio Koki, Tamijaku Onoe, or Tsunusaburo Onoe, and as a kabuki artist he went by the name Tsurusaburo Onoe...

, based upon Chūjō-hime's legend.

External links