Jie　慈恵

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Commonly known as Jie Daishi 慈恵大師 or Great Master Jie.The posthumous name of Ryougen 良源 (912-85), abbot at Mt. Hiei 比叡, reformer of the Tendai 天台 sect, and early supporter of Pure Land joudo 浄土 Buddhism. Also known by the names Gansan Daishi 元三大師, Tsuno Daishi 角大師, and Mibyou Daishi 御廟大師. Born in Oumi 近江 province (Shiga prefecture), he entered Mt. Hiei, the Tendai headquarters northeast of Kyoto, at age twelve. He became abbot in 966 and spent the next nineteen years overseeing the rebuilding of the temple complex, constructing new buildings and enhancing the power and prestige of the Tendai establishment. Ryougen secured imperial patronage and acquired a nationwide network of branch temples *betsuin 別院. He also reinforced monastic rules and the tradition of scholarship. A major figure in the lineage of Tendai patriarch Ennin 円仁 (794-864), Ryougen was in turn the teacher of the two seminal Pure Land theologians Genshin 源信 (942-1017) and Kakuun 覚運 (953-1007). When Ryougen's prayers for the recovery of Emperor Enyuu 円融 (959-91) proved effective, he was granted the title of Daishi or Great Master. Because he was legendary for subjugating vengeful ghosts, many portrait sculptures were made of him. Well known examples include the statues at Genkouji 現光寺 (1218, Hyougo prefecture), and Manshuin 蔓殊院 (1268, Kyoto).

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