Inari › Saicho » Ancient origins
Articles and Definitions › Contents
- Inari › Who Was
- Saicho › Who Was
Ancient civilizations › Historical and archaeological sites
Inari › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Inari is the Shinto god of rice, the protector of food, and bringer of prosperity. He has over 40,000 shrines dedicated to him large and small across Japan, the oldest and most important of which is the Fushimi Inari Shrine near Kyoto with its famous red torii gates and fox statues in honour of the animal which is considered the god's messenger and guardian.
NAMES
Inari's name derives from ine, meaning rice seedling and so his name can be translated as 'rice carrier'. The rice god may go by another name, that of Ta-no- kami or 'the god of the paddy field'. He is sometimes called Susshe Inari (Success Inari) or Manzoku Inari (Fulfillment Inari). Yet another title is Ukanomitama-no-kami, meaning 'the god of nourishment'. Inari is also closely associated with the ancient rice or food goddess Ukemochi okami. Another association and one typical of the crossover of divine figures in Shinto and Japanese Buddhism is Daikiniten/Daikokuten (from the Hindu Dakini), the Buddhistgod of the kitchen and the Five Grains, which include, of course, rice. In Buddhism, the god is considered a disciple of the Buddha and he may also be known as Inari Daimyojin.
SPREAD OF THE CULT
According to legend, Inari was first worshipped on Mount Inari from the 8th century CE following a discovery by a man called Hata no Irogu. One day Irogu was practising his archery skills using sticky rice cakes ( mochi ) as targets. One shot hit directly through a cake which then magically transformed into a white dove. Irogu followed the flight of the bird which eventually landed on a peak of Mt. Inari called Mitsumine, and there he found rice growing and so began the worship of Inari as a spirit or Shinto kami.
INARI IS THE SHINTO GOD OF PROSPERITY, THE FRIEND OF MERCHANTS, TRADERS & ARTISANS, & ALL ROUND GENERAL PROBLEM SOLVER.
As the god of rice, the staple food of ancient Japan and so vital to the lives of all people from the lowly farmer to the emperor himself, Inari, unsurprisingly would become one of the major figures of Shinto. Festivals and rituals involving rice and rice farming, especially in the periods of sowing and harvest, have been practised ever since rice cultivation was introduced into southern Japan during the Yayoi Period (300 BCE - 250 CE). Given the food's importance, Inari's cult, thus, reached all corners of the Japanese islands and he acquired all manner of other attributes, too. Regarded as the bringer of prosperity in general, the protector of food, finder of lost property, protector of lovers and married couples, patron of swordsmiths, friend of merchants, traders, and artisans, and all round general problem solver.
Inari's cult spread from that of a purely local deity in the 9th century CE when the famous scholar monk and founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, Kukai, aka Kobo Daishi (774-835 CE), made the god the guardian of the To-ji temple in Heiankyo (Kyoto), then the capital of Japan. Kukai had claimed to have met an old man carrying rice on the Inari mountain and he considered it a meeting with the god himself. When the emperor fell seriously ill, it was only by giving Inari a high court rank that he ensured his recovery.
Torri, Fushimi Inari Shrine
During the Edo Period (1603-1868 CE) Inari took on an association with commerce and thus came to represent wealth and prosperity. This developed further as Japan's economy grew and life became more commercialised so that, by the Meiji Period (1868-1912 CE), Inari was considered the kami of finance and industry, a position he still holds for many today. Consequently, Inari shrines are still very much in use and also appear in miniaturised form in such places as market squares and the roofs of office blocks.
THE FOX
In art the god is sometimes represented with a beard, he wears court clothes, carries a sack of rice, sometimes a flaming jewel which grants wishes, and may hold a key to a granary. Very often he is riding a white fox, the animal regarded as Inari's messenger and guardian. For this reason, Inari became the yashikigami or household deity of warriors in the medieval period as they too were imagined to ride foxes.
Many Inari shrines have fox sculptures, often wearing red bibs for good luck and holding a key to a rice granary in their mouths. Each shrine also has a symbolic hole in one of its perimeter walls to allow Inari's fox messenger ease of entry and exit. Worshippers frequently leave an offering for the fox at Inari shrines, typically inari-zushi, which is cooked rice wrapped in fried tofu and soaked in a sweet rice liquor. It is hoped that pleased with this offering the fox will only pass on good things about the worshipper to his master and thus ensure a favourable response from the god for whatever is being asked for.
Fox Statue, Fushimi Inari Shrine
FUSHIMI INARI
Inari is one of the most popular deities in Japan, and he has thousands of shrines across the country, especially in rural areas, but it is the Fushimi Inari Taisha temple complex near Kyoto which is the oldest, largest and the most important. Aside from being the headquarters of Inari worship, the Fushimi shrine is also famous for the large number of red gates ( torii ) of all sizes at the site, which are donated by the faithful looking for the god to favour them (starting price around 3000 US dollars at the time of writing ). The paths at the complex have over 5,000 torii, and they are placed so close together as to almost form covered walkways.
The Fushimi Inari shrine was founded in 711 CE by the Hata clan and moved from its original location on the top of Mt. Inari to its present location lower down in the 9th century CE. Like several other Shinto shrines, it was administered by Buddhist monks until the formal separation of the two religions in 1873 CE. The large round stone outside the main temple represents the presence ( shintai ) of Inari and is flanked by a large pair of fox sculptures. The main building was, unfortunately, destroyed by fire in 1468 CE during the Onin Wars (1467-1477 CE), but it was rebuilt in 1499 CE and has since been regularly restored.The Fushimi shrine is a popular visitor attraction all year round but especially in the New Year for the Hatsumode festival and at the beginning of February for the Hatsuuma Taisai festival.
This article was made possible with generous support from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
Saicho › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Saicho, also known as Dengyo Daishi (767-822 CE), was a monk and scholar who founded the Buddhist Tendai Sect in Japan. Based on the teachings of the Chinese Tiantai Sect, Saicho's simplified and inclusive version of Buddhism grew in popularity, and its headquarters, the Enryakuji temple complex on Mount Hiei, became one of the most important in Japan as well as a celebrated seat of learning.
EARLY LIFE
Saicho was born in 767 CE in Furuchi-go in Omi Province. He entered the Omi Kokubunji as a novice aged 11 and was tutored by the bishop Gyohyo. In 785 CE he was ordained as a monk. Three years later, disillusioned with the increasing worldliness in Buddhism, Saicho decided to live as an ascetic hermit on the slopes of Mount Hiei near Kyoto, a move not uncommon for priests of the period. There, in 788 CE, he built the first shrine of what would later become a huge temple complex. He began to study all he could on every variation of Buddhism and to attract followers, including two of his best-known disciples - Ensho and Gishin.
Saicho's reputation as a learned scholar grew, and in 797 CE he was made one of the ten court chaplains whose responsibility was to pray for the wellbeing of the state and its emperor. In 798 CE Saicho began what became a major series of annual lectures on Mount Hiei. The monk then visited Tang China in 804 CE as part of an official embassy sent by Emperor Kammu(r. 781-806 CE). There he studied four branches of Buddhism including Zen and Tiantai, which he was, by that time, already familiar with. He was initiated into the higher levels of the faith, studied texts of Mikkyo ( Esoteric Buddhism ), and brought back with him over 200 manuscripts and various implements for use in esoteric rituals.
SAICHO BROUGHT BACK FROM CHINA OVER 200 MANUSCRIPTS & VARIOUS IMPLEMENTS FOR USE IN ESOTERIC RITUALS.
TENDAI BUDDHISM
Saicho sought to simplify the teachings of Buddhism, and on his return, he founded the eclectic Tendai Sect ( Tendaishu ) which was based on the Chinese Tiantai Sect and the Lotus Sutra (the last teachings of Buddha, aka the Hokekyo ). Saicho believed that the best and quickest way to reach enlightenment was through esoteric ritual, that is rites which only the priesthood and initiated had access to. At the same time, the teachings of the Lotus Sutra allowed for many different ways to reach enlightenment and even women, under exceptional conditions, could attain Buddhahood. The historian RHP Mason summarises the principles of Tendai Buddhism as follows:
Firstly, there was the bodhisattva ideal of compassion and service. Secondly, there was a benevolent attitude towards other forms of religion, including other forms of Buddhism. Thirdly, there was a belief in the eventual salvation of all beings. Fourthly, there was the idea that all life, and not just human life, was basically the same;that is, an idea of underlying unity of existence. (Mason, 102)
IMPERIAL ENDORSEMENT
Students…shall be appointed to positions in keeping with their achievements after 12 years training and study.Those who are capable in both action and speech shall remain permanently on the mountain as leaders of the order: these are the treasure of the nation. Those who are capable in speech but not in action shall be teachers of the nation, and those capable in action but not in speech shall be the functionaries of the nation.Teachers and functionaries…shall also serve in such undertakings which benefit the nation and people as the repair of ponds and canals, the reclamation of uncultivated land, the reparation of landslides, the construction of bridges and ships, the planting of trees…the sowing of hemp and grasses, and the digging of wells and irrigation ditches. They shall also study the Sutras, and cultivate their minds, but shall not engage in private agriculture or trading.Two lay intendants will be appointed to this Tendai monastery to supervise it alternately, and to keep out robbers, liquor and women. Thus the Buddhist Law will be upheld and the nation safeguarded. (Mason, 100)
AN INDEPENDENT SECT
Tendai Buddhism was unique from its Chinese parent Tiantai in that it incorporated esoteric rituals and initiations. Although all Buddhist sects were given value, Saicho still wrote in 813 CE his Ehyo Tendai shu which documented why Tendai was superior to all other branches of Buddhism. Saicho then compiled a new set of rules for ordaining Tendai priests in 818 CE, the Tendai Hokke- shu nembun gakusho shiki ('Bylaws for the Annual Ordinands of the Tendai Hokke School'), effectively breaking away from the established form of Buddhism in Japan. More proposals followed in 819 CE, which included the establishment of monasteries exclusively for Tendai monks (up to that time monasteries had hosted monks of varying branches of Buddhism). The Establishment in the form of the Office of Hierarchs fought these changes which led to Saicho producing his famous Kenkairon ('Treatise on the Precepts') which listed a 58-argument defence of why his proposals should be accepted.The conservative Hierarchs and Emperor Saga (r. 809-823 CE) would not budge though, even if Saicho was given the highest religious rank of dai hoshi.
Konponchudo, Enryaku-ji
DEATH & LEGACY
On his death in 822 CE Saicho, given the honorary title Dengyo Daishi, was also considered a bodhisattva, that is, one who has reached nirvana but remains on earth to guide others. Shortly after his passing, Tendai was finally and formally established as a fully independent sect of Buddhism by the emperor acting independently of the Office of Hierarchs. The headquarters of Tendai Buddhism, which became even more popular after its founder's death, was the Enryakuji temple complex on Mount Hiei, and as Tendai encouraged the study of all Buddhist texts the complex, boasting up to 3,000 buildings and 25,000 residents in its heyday, became the major seat of learning in Japan. Tendai, perhaps inevitably given its broad range of eclectic beliefs, would, over the centuries, spawn other important Buddhist offshoots such as those of the Pure Land (Jodo) and Nichiren Sects.
This article was made possible with generous support from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
LICENSE:
Article based on information obtained from these sources:with permission from the Website Ancient History Encyclopedia
Content is available under License Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. CC-BY-NC-SA License