National Treasure Gallery: Documents Relating to Ordination of Priest Denkyo Daishi
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Documents Relating to Ordination of Priest Denkyo Daishi (detail), Heian period, 9th century (National Treasure)
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 2
August 7, 2018 (Tue) - September 2, 2018 (Sun)This scroll contains three documents related to Priest Saicho (766-822), also known as Dengyo Daishi. Saicho was the founder of Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei, a sacred mountain located to the northeast of central Kyoto, and the founder of the Tendai sect of Buddhism in Japan. The documents contained within concern Saicho’s credentials as a Buddhist priest. The first document, dated the tenth day of the eleventh month, 780 (Hoki 11), is a copy of the notification permitting Saicho to enter the priesthood. It reveals his age being fifteen at the time, his secular name being “Mitsuno’obito Hirono,” and details surrounding his family register. The second document, dated the twentieth day of the first month, 783 (Enryaku 2), is a copy of the certificate attesting to Saicho entering the priesthood. Recorded in it are his physical features, such as the moles on his skin. With the seal of an officiating priest stamped across the entire text and dated the sixth day of the fourth month, 785 (Enryaku 4), the third document is the original notification confirming that Saicho, at the age of 20, was ordained a certified Buddhist priest.
| Designation | Name | Creation/ Excavation/ Provenance |
Period | Acquisition/ Ownership/ Accession Number |
CMT | ||
| Highlight | National Treasure | Documents Relating to Ordination of Priest Dengyo Daishi | Heian period, 9th century | Lent by Raigoin, Kyoto |