All Topics  
Kokei

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Kokei
 
 
  Topics Kokei Topic Home

Kokei (also Kogei; ??: 977?-1049), the author of the Enoshima Engi
Enoshima Engi

The Enoshima Engi is a history of the temples and shrines on Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay. It was written in Chinese language, the scholarly language of the time, by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kokei in 1047 A.D....
, was an eminent Japanese Buddhist monk. He is said to have commenced his career as a monk at the age of seven, when he climbed Mt. Hiei to Enryakuji Monastery, one of the centers of Japanese Buddhism.

Kokei is credited with the building of the Enryuji Temple in Tango (??; ancient name for region to the north of Kyoto on the Sea of Japan) during the period 995-998.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Kokei'
Start a new discussion about 'Kokei'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Kokei (also Kogei; ??: 977?-1049), the author of the Enoshima Engi
Enoshima Engi

The Enoshima Engi is a history of the temples and shrines on Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay. It was written in Chinese language, the scholarly language of the time, by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kokei in 1047 A.D....
, was an eminent Japanese Buddhist monk. He is said to have commenced his career as a monk at the age of seven, when he climbed Mt. Hiei to Enryakuji Monastery, one of the centers of Japanese Buddhism.

Kokei is credited with the building of the Enryuji Temple in Tango (??; ancient name for region to the north of Kyoto on the Sea of Japan) during the period 995-998. In the year 1003 AD, he boarded a vessel in an attempt to travel to Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty was a ruling Chinese dynasty in China between 960–1279 AD; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty....
 China to study Buddhism, however, the vessel was unable to depart, and he gave up that ambition. Around 1026, he left Enryakuji and built a thatched hermitage in the Tanba region north of Kyoto
Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 at Ikegami. It is said to have been the predecessor of the Ikegami-in sub-temple. In reference to this hermitage, he was also known as "Ikegami Ajari" (?????: "The Master-teacher of Ikegami"). He remained at Ikegami until he received a dream sent by the guardian deity of Enryakuji, who commanded him to return to Enryakuji. He died in Enryakuji at the age of seventy-seven (or seventy-three according to other sources).

As the seventh generation disciple in a direct line from Ennin
Ennin

Ennin , who is better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi , was a priest of the Tendai school.Birth and origin ...
, he was a learned monk who played an important role in the rise of the Tendai
Tendai

is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the China Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.David W. Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:...
 sect. The Enoshima Engi
Enoshima Engi

The Enoshima Engi is a history of the temples and shrines on Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay. It was written in Chinese language, the scholarly language of the time, by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kokei in 1047 A.D....
, which he completed two years before his death, presented the goddess Benzaiten
Benzaiten

Benzaiten is the Japanese language name for the Hinduism goddess Saraswati; there was an important river in ancient India of this name . Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries, mainly via the Chinese language translations of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has a section devoted to her....
 both as a protector of the state (in keeping with the Sutra of Golden Light) and as a savior of the people, thus expanding her role. He is also the author of Zuiyoki, a treatise on a consecration ceremony in which water is sprinkled on the head of a disciple by a master, thereby upgrading the status of the disciple.