En no Ozunu, also En no Ozuno, Otsuno (役小角) (b. 634, in Katsuragi (modern Nara Prefecture); d. c. 700–707) was a Japanese ascetic and mystic, traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō, the path of ascetic training practiced by the gyōja or yamabushi.
He was banished by the Imperial Court to Izu Ōshima on June 26, 699, but folk tales at least as old as the Nihon Ryōiki (c. 800) recount his supernatural powers and exploits.
He is also referred to by the name En no Gyōja (役行者, "En the ascetic"), En no Ubasoku (役優婆塞, "En the Layman") , or also under the full name En no Kimi Ozunu, where Kimi (君) is his kabane or titular name.
Even historical accounts of his life are intermixed with legends and folklore. According to the chronicle Shoku Nihongi (797 AD), En no Ozunu was banished to the island of Izu Ōshima on June 26, 699:
On hinoto-ushi (sexagenary "fire ox") day[a] [24th day of the 5th month, Mommu 3 (June 26, 699 AD)], En no Kimi Ozunu was banished to Izu no Shima. Ozunu had first lived in Mount Katsuragi and been acclaimed for his sorcery and was the teacher of Outer Junior 5th Rank Lower Grade Karakuni no Muraji Hirotari [ja]. Later, [a person (or Hirotari?)] envied his power and accused him of trickery with his weird magic. [The Imperial Court] banished him far [from the Capital]. Rumor says, "Ozunu was able to manipulate demonic spirits, making them draw water and gather firewood. When they disobeyed, he bound them using sorcery."[1]
In spite of this incident, it seems that the Court continued to highly evaluate the herbal knowledge of Ozunu's school, since Vol. 11 of the book also tells that on October 5, Tenpyō 4 (October 28, 732 AD), his student Karakuni no Hirotari was elected as the Head Apothecary (典薬頭, Ten'yaku no Kami), the highest position in Agency for Apothecary (典薬寮, Ten'yaku-ryō).[2]
In the religion Shugendō
Muromachi period portrait of En no Gyōja accompanied by two oni (demons) providing water and wood
En no Gyōja was conferred the posthumous title Jinben Daibosatsu (Great Bodhisattva Jinben, 神変大菩薩) at a ceremony held in 1799 to commemorate the one-thousandth year of his passing. Authorship of the non-canonical Sutra on the Unlimited Life of the Threefold Body is attributed to En no Gyōja. Due to his mythical status as a mountain saint, he was believed to possess many supernatural powers.[5]
In Kyoto's Gion Festival, one of the yamaboko floats (En no Gyoja Yama) is dedicated to En no Gyoja. It is an annual pilgrimage destination for yamabushi (practitioners of Shugendo), who perform various rituals on site.[6]
In the PS1 game Oni Zero: Fukkatsu, the main antagonist is En no Gyōja.
In Koji Suzuki's novel Ring,Sadako's mother drags a statuette of En no Ozunu from the sea.
In the movie "Ninja Assassin," the antagonist is 'Master Ozunu;' who heads the, "9 Clan".
In the anime Zenki, a posthumous character named Enno Ozunu was the master of Zenki, who would centuries later be summoned again by his descendant, Chiaki Enno.
The manga Touge Oni tells the tale of En no Ozuno and his two disciples, Zenki and Miyo (later Goki), traveling the land of Wa meeting various Kami.
Explanatory notes
^See Sexagenary cycle#Problems with English translation. The sequential number for "fire ox" may be 14th, but this does not determine the day of month, because it is continuously carried over, and does not reset to zero at the start of each month.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to En no Ozunu.
Citations
^Keizai Zasshisha, ed. (1897), 續日本紀 [Shoku Nihongi], 國史大系 [Grand Collection of National History] (in Chinese), vol. 2, p. 7, 丁丑。役君小角流于伊豆島。初小角住於葛木山。以咒術稱。外從五位下韓國連廣足師焉。後害其能。讒以妖惑。故配遠處。世相傳云。小角能役使鬼神。汲水採薪。若不用命。即以咒縛之。
^Blacker, Carmen. The Catalpa Bow. 2nd ed. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1986.
^Kodansha, Encyclopedia of Japan. Vol.2, Tokyo, 1983.
^Pawasarat, Catherine (Nov 2020). The Gion Festival: Exploring Its Mysteries. self-published. pp. 199–201. ISBN978-0-9985886-6-7.
Bibliography
Keenan, Linda Klepinger (1989). En no Gyōja: the legend of a holy man in the twelve centuries of Japanese literature. Vol. 4 vols. University of Wisconsin--Madison. ISBN9781134384624.: v.1, v. 2
External links
En no Ozunu - History of Japan Database
January 07, 2023
gyōja, this, japanese, name, surname, ozunu, also, ozuno, otsuno, 役小角, katsuragi, modern, nara, prefecture, japanese, ascetic, mystic, traditionally, held, founder, shugendō, path, ascetic, training, practiced, gyōja, yamabushi, statue, kamakura, period, 1300,. In this Japanese name the surname is En En no Ozunu also En no Ozuno Otsuno 役小角 b 634 in Katsuragi modern Nara Prefecture d c 700 707 was a Japanese ascetic and mystic traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō the path of ascetic training practiced by the gyōja or yamabushi Statue of En no Gyōja Kamakura period c 1300 1375 Kimbell Art Museum Statue of En no Gyōja in Goryusonryu in ja Kurashiki Okayama Prefecture Japan He was banished by the Imperial Court to Izu Ōshima on June 26 699 but folk tales at least as old as the Nihon Ryōiki c 800 recount his supernatural powers and exploits He is also referred to by the name En no Gyōja 役行者 En the ascetic En no Ubasoku 役優婆塞 En the Layman or also under the full name En no Kimi Ozunu where Kimi 君 is his kabane or titular name Contents 1 Historical references 2 In the religion Shugendō 3 In popular culture 4 Explanatory notes 5 References 6 External linksHistorical references EditEven historical accounts of his life are intermixed with legends and folklore According to the chronicle Shoku Nihongi 797 AD En no Ozunu was banished to the island of Izu Ōshima on June 26 699 On hinoto ushi sexagenary fire ox day a 24th day of the 5th month Mommu 3 June 26 699 AD En no Kimi Ozunu was banished to Izu no Shima Ozunu had first lived in Mount Katsuragi and been acclaimed for his sorcery and was the teacher of Outer Junior 5th Rank Lower Grade Karakuni no Muraji Hirotari ja Later a person or Hirotari envied his power and accused him of trickery with his weird magic The Imperial Court banished him far from the Capital Rumor says Ozunu was able to manipulate demonic spirits making them draw water and gather firewood When they disobeyed he bound them using sorcery 1 In spite of this incident it seems that the Court continued to highly evaluate the herbal knowledge of Ozunu s school since Vol 11 of the book also tells that on October 5 Tenpyō 4 October 28 732 AD his student Karakuni no Hirotari was elected as the Head Apothecary 典薬頭 Ten yaku no Kami the highest position in Agency for Apothecary 典薬寮 Ten yaku ryō 2 In the religion Shugendō Edit Muromachi period portrait of En no Gyōja accompanied by two oni demons providing water and wood In folk religion En no Ozunu is traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō 3 a syncretic religion incorporating aspects of Taoism Shinto esoteric Buddhism especially Shingon Mikkyō and the Tendai sect and traditional Japanese shamanism 4 En no Gyōja was conferred the posthumous title Jinben Daibosatsu Great Bodhisattva Jinben 神変大菩薩 at a ceremony held in 1799 to commemorate the one thousandth year of his passing Authorship of the non canonical Sutra on the Unlimited Life of the Threefold Body is attributed to En no Gyōja Due to his mythical status as a mountain saint he was believed to possess many supernatural powers 5 In popular culture EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message In Kyoto s Gion Festival one of the yamaboko floats En no Gyoja Yama is dedicated to En no Gyoja It is an annual pilgrimage destination for yamabushi practitioners of Shugendo who perform various rituals on site 6 In the historical fantasy novel Teito Monogatari by Hiroshi Aramata the protagonist Yasunori Kato claims to be a descendant of En no Gyōja In the manga OZN by Shiro Ohno the protagonist is a superheroic version of En no Ozunu In the SNES game Shin Megami Tensei an NPC named En no ozuno resides in Kongokai In the PS1 game Oni Zero Fukkatsu the main antagonist is En no Gyōja In Koji Suzuki s novel Ring Sadako s mother drags a statuette of En no Ozunu from the sea In the movie Ninja Assassin the antagonist is Master Ozunu who heads the 9 Clan In the anime Zenki a posthumous character named Enno Ozunu was the master of Zenki who would centuries later be summoned again by his descendant Chiaki Enno The manga Touge Oni tells the tale of En no Ozuno and his two disciples Zenki and Miyo later Goki traveling the land of Wa meeting various Kami Explanatory notes Edit See Sexagenary cycle Problems with English translation The sequential number for fire ox may be 14th but this does not determine the day of month because it is continuously carried over and does not reset to zero at the start of each month References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to En no Ozunu Citations Keizai Zasshisha ed 1897 續日本紀 Shoku Nihongi 國史大系 Grand Collection of National History in Chinese vol 2 p 7 丁丑 役君小角流于伊豆島 初小角住於葛木山 以咒術稱 外從五位下韓國連廣足師焉 後害其能 讒以妖惑 故配遠處 世相傳云 小角能役使鬼神 汲水採薪 若不用命 即以咒縛之 Keizai Zasshisha 1897 續日本紀 Shoku Nihongi p 189 in Chinese Keenan 1989 2 171 172 Blacker Carmen The Catalpa Bow 2nd ed London George Allen amp Unwin 1986 Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan Vol 2 Tokyo 1983 Pawasarat Catherine Nov 2020 The Gion Festival Exploring Its Mysteries self published pp 199 201 ISBN 978 0 9985886 6 7 BibliographyKeenan Linda Klepinger 1989 En no Gyōja the legend of a holy man in the twelve centuries of Japanese literature Vol 4 vols University of Wisconsin Madison ISBN 9781134384624 v 1 v 2External links EditEn no Ozunu History of Japan Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title En no Gyōja amp oldid 1119067623, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
