"Ganjin" redirects here. For the village in Iran, see Ganjin, Iran.
Jianzhen (Chinese: 鑒真; Wade–Giles: Chien-chen; 688–763), or Ganjin in Japanese, was a Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times. Ganjin finally came to Japan in the year 753 and founded Tōshōdai-ji in Nara. When he finally succeeded on his sixth attempt he had lost his eyesight as a result of an infection acquired during his journey. Jianzhen's life story and voyage are described in the scroll, "The Sea Journey to the East of a Great Bonze from the Tang Dynasty."[1]
Jianzhen
鑒真
This Nara period wooden statue vividly represents both Ganjin's gentle personality and his indomitable willpower.[citation needed]
Map showing travels of the Monk Jianzhen to reach Japan
Jianzhen was born in Jiangyin county in Guangling Prefecture (present day Yangzhou, Jiangsu) China, with the surname of Chunyu (淳于). At the age of fourteen, he became a disciple of Dayun Temple (大云寺). At twenty he travelled to Chang'an for study and returned six years later, eventually becoming abbot of Daming Temple. Besides his learning in the Tripiṭaka, Jianzhen is also said to have been an expert in medicine. He opened the Buddhist temple as a place of healing, creating the Beitian Court (悲田院)—a hospital within Daming Temple.
In autumn 742, an emissary from Japan invited Jianzhen to lecture in Japan.[2] Despite protests from his disciples, Jianzhen made preparations and in spring 743 was ready for the long voyage across the East China Sea to Japan. The crossing failed and in the following years, Jianzhen made three more attempts but was thwarted by unfavourable conditions or government intervention.
In summer 748, Jianzhen made his fifth attempt to reach Japan. Leaving from Yangzhou, he made it to the Zhoushan Archipelago off the coast of modern Zhejiang. But the ship was blown off course and ended up in the Yande (延德) commandery on Hainan Island. Jianzhen was then forced to make his way back to Yangzhou by land, lecturing at a number of monasteries on the way. Jianzhen travelled along the Gan River to Jiujiang, and then down the Yangtze River. The entire failed enterprise took him close to three years. By the time Jianzhen returned to Yangzhou, he was blind from an infection.
In the autumn of 753, the blind Jianzhen decided to join a Japanese emissary ship returning to its home country. After an eventful sea journey of several months, the group finally landed at Kagoshima, Kyūshū, on December 20. They reached Nara in the spring of the next year and were welcomed by the Emperor. At Nara, Jianzhen presided over Tōdai-ji. The Chinese monks who travelled with him introduced Chinese religious sculpture to the Japanese. In 755, the first ordination platform in Japan was constructed at Tōdai-ji, on the place where including former Emperor Shōmu and Empress Kōmyō received ordination by Jianzhen a year earlier. In 759 he retired to a piece of land granted to him by the imperial court in the western part of Nara. There he founded a school and also set up a private temple, Tōshōdai-ji. In the ten years until his death in Japan, Jianzhen not only propagated the Buddhist faith among the aristocracy, but also served as an important conductor of Chinese culture.
Jianzhen died on the 6th day of the 5th month of 763. A dry-lacquer statue of him made shortly after his death can still be seen at Tōshōdai-ji.[3] Recognised as one of the greatest of its type, it has been postulated by statue restoration experts that the statue incorporates linen clothing originally worn by Ganjin.[4] The statue was temporarily brought to Jianzhen's original temple in Yangzhou in 1980 as part of a friendship exchange between Japan and China.
Jianzhen is credited with the introduction of the Ritsu school of Buddhism to Japan, which focused on the vinaya, or Buddhist monastic rules.
In May 2010, the Taiwanese Buddhist organization Tzu Chi organized and produced an animated drama on Jianzhen's life and journey to Japan.
Notes and references
^A Blessing over the Sea: The Tōshōdai-ji Exhibition, in Shanghai, What are the Highlights of an Exclusive visit to the Tangzhaoti Temple Exhibition? on YouTube, Documentary on Buddhist Monk, Jianzhen, who made a sea voyage to the East (to Japan), to teach the precepts of Buddhism to the Japanese. / Dec 2019, minutes 1:19 (with subtitles).
^A Blessing over the Sea: The Tōshōdai-ji Exhibition, in Shanghai, What are the Highlights of an Exclusive visit to the Tangzhaoti Temple Exhibition? on YouTube, Documentary on Buddhist Monk, Jianzhen, who made a sea voyage to the East (to Japan), to teach the precepts of Buddhism to the Japanese. / Dec 2019, minutes 0:40–0:51 (with subtitles).
^The statue is made public only during a limited number of days around the anniversary of Jianzhen's death (see it on the right). (Planned June 2nd - 10th for year 2007.)
^NHK World, Mysteries of Ganjin's Statue, 11/2/13.
Bibliography
Bingenheimer, Marcus (2003). "A translation of the Tōdaiwajō tōseiden 唐大和上東征傳.” (Part 1)," The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 4, 168-189
Bingenheimer, Marcus (2004). "A translation of the Tōdaiwajō tōseiden 唐大和上東征傳. (Part 2)", The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 5, 142-181
Genkai, Aomi-no Mabito; Takakusu J., trans. (1928). Le voyage de Kanshin en Orient (742-754), Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient 28 (1), 1-41
Genkai, Aomi-no Mabito; Takakusu J., trans. (1929). Le voyage de Kanshin en Orient (742-754), Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient 29 (1), 47-62
Zhou, Yuzhi (2016). , Journal of Asian Humanities at kyushu University 1, 47-52
External links
Tōdai-ji Homepage
January 28, 2023
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Ganjin redirects here For the village in Iran see Ganjin Iran Jianzhen Chinese 鑒真 Wade Giles Chien chen 688 763 or Ganjin in Japanese was a Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan In the eleven years from 743 to 754 Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times Ganjin finally came to Japan in the year 753 and founded Tōshōdai ji in Nara When he finally succeeded on his sixth attempt he had lost his eyesight as a result of an infection acquired during his journey Jianzhen s life story and voyage are described in the scroll The Sea Journey to the East of a Great Bonze from the Tang Dynasty 1 Jianzhen鑒真This Nara period wooden statue vividly represents both Ganjin s gentle personality and his indomitable willpower citation needed PersonalBornChunyu688Yangzhou Jiangsu ChinaDied763 aged 74 75 Tōshōdai ji Nara Prefecture JapanReligionBuddhismNationalityChineseSchoolRisshuLineage3rd generationDharma namesJianzhenTempleDaming TempleTōshōdai jiSenior postingTeacherZhiman 智滿 Dao an 道岸 Students Xiangyan 祥彥 Daoxing 道興 Situo 思托 Fajin 法進 JianzhenChinese nameTraditional Chinese鑒真Simplified Chinese鉴真TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinJianzhenWade GilesChien4 chen1IPA tɕjɛ n ʈʂe n Yue CantoneseYale RomanizationGaamjanJyutpingGaam3 zan1IPA ka ːm tsɐ n Japanese nameKanji鑑真TranscriptionsRomanizationGanjin Contents 1 Life 2 Notes and references 3 Bibliography 4 External linksLife Edit Jianzhen Monk Memorial Hall Daming Temple in Yangzhou PRC Map showing travels of the Monk Jianzhen to reach Japan Jianzhen was born in Jiangyin county in Guangling Prefecture present day Yangzhou Jiangsu China with the surname of Chunyu 淳于 At the age of fourteen he became a disciple of Dayun Temple 大云寺 At twenty he travelled to Chang an for study and returned six years later eventually becoming abbot of Daming Temple Besides his learning in the Tripiṭaka Jianzhen is also said to have been an expert in medicine He opened the Buddhist temple as a place of healing creating the Beitian Court 悲田院 a hospital within Daming Temple In autumn 742 an emissary from Japan invited Jianzhen to lecture in Japan 2 Despite protests from his disciples Jianzhen made preparations and in spring 743 was ready for the long voyage across the East China Sea to Japan The crossing failed and in the following years Jianzhen made three more attempts but was thwarted by unfavourable conditions or government intervention In summer 748 Jianzhen made his fifth attempt to reach Japan Leaving from Yangzhou he made it to the Zhoushan Archipelago off the coast of modern Zhejiang But the ship was blown off course and ended up in the Yande 延德 commandery on Hainan Island Jianzhen was then forced to make his way back to Yangzhou by land lecturing at a number of monasteries on the way Jianzhen travelled along the Gan River to Jiujiang and then down the Yangtze River The entire failed enterprise took him close to three years By the time Jianzhen returned to Yangzhou he was blind from an infection Golden Hall of Tōshōdai ji in Nara Japan World Heritage Site In the autumn of 753 the blind Jianzhen decided to join a Japanese emissary ship returning to its home country After an eventful sea journey of several months the group finally landed at Kagoshima Kyushu on December 20 They reached Nara in the spring of the next year and were welcomed by the Emperor At Nara Jianzhen presided over Tōdai ji The Chinese monks who travelled with him introduced Chinese religious sculpture to the Japanese In 755 the first ordination platform in Japan was constructed at Tōdai ji on the place where including former Emperor Shōmu and Empress Kōmyō received ordination by Jianzhen a year earlier In 759 he retired to a piece of land granted to him by the imperial court in the western part of Nara There he founded a school and also set up a private temple Tōshōdai ji In the ten years until his death in Japan Jianzhen not only propagated the Buddhist faith among the aristocracy but also served as an important conductor of Chinese culture Jianzhen died on the 6th day of the 5th month of 763 A dry lacquer statue of him made shortly after his death can still be seen at Tōshōdai ji 3 Recognised as one of the greatest of its type it has been postulated by statue restoration experts that the statue incorporates linen clothing originally worn by Ganjin 4 The statue was temporarily brought to Jianzhen s original temple in Yangzhou in 1980 as part of a friendship exchange between Japan and China Jianzhen is credited with the introduction of the Ritsu school of Buddhism to Japan which focused on the vinaya or Buddhist monastic rules In May 2010 the Taiwanese Buddhist organization Tzu Chi organized and produced an animated drama on Jianzhen s life and journey to Japan Notes and references Edit A Blessing over the Sea The Tōshōdai ji Exhibition in Shanghai What are the Highlights of an Exclusive visit to the Tangzhaoti Temple Exhibition on YouTube Documentary on Buddhist Monk Jianzhen who made a sea voyage to the East to Japan to teach the precepts of Buddhism to the Japanese Dec 2019 minutes 1 19 with subtitles A Blessing over the Sea The Tōshōdai ji Exhibition in Shanghai What are the Highlights of an Exclusive visit to the Tangzhaoti Temple Exhibition on YouTube Documentary on Buddhist Monk Jianzhen who made a sea voyage to the East to Japan to teach the precepts of Buddhism to the Japanese Dec 2019 minutes 0 40 0 51 with subtitles The statue is made public only during a limited number of days around the anniversary of Jianzhen s death see it on the right Planned June 2nd 10th for year 2007 NHK World Mysteries of Ganjin s Statue 11 2 13 Bibliography EditBingenheimer Marcus 2003 A translation of the Tōdaiwajō tōseiden 唐大和上東征傳 Part 1 The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 4 168 189 Bingenheimer Marcus 2004 A translation of the Tōdaiwajō tōseiden 唐大和上東征傳 Part 2 The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 5 142 181 Buswell Robert Jr Lopez Donald S Jr eds 2013 Ganjin in Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism Princeton NJ Princeton University Press ISBN 9780691157863 Genkai Aomi no Mabito Takakusu J trans 1928 Le voyage de Kanshin en Orient 742 754 Bulletin de l Ecole francaise d Extreme Orient 28 1 1 41 Genkai Aomi no Mabito Takakusu J trans 1929 Le voyage de Kanshin en Orient 742 754 Bulletin de l Ecole francaise d Extreme Orient 29 1 47 62 Zhou Yuzhi 2016 Ganjin From Vinaya Master to Ritsu School Founder Journal of Asian Humanities at kyushu University 1 47 52External links EditTōdai ji Homepage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jianzhen amp oldid 1113888037, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
