Local Deities (kami) in Medieval Japanese Buddhism in Japan: The Writings of Jien

Abstract

In this study the author analyzes how the nature of Japanese deities known as kami was understood in the medieval Japanese philosophical tradition. The ar­ticle is focused on the discourses produced by the Tendai school of Buddhism at the beginning of 13th century. The study is based on cycles of poems (hōraku), as well as the historical and literary work “Gukanshō”, composed by the Tendai monk Jien (1155–1255). Textual analysis of Jien’s writings allows us to clarify how the nature of the kami were interpreted in Buddhist terms by using the concept of honji suijaku (trace manifestations of original nature). The author shows Jien’s mode of interaction with local kami and Buddhism to demonstrate how it was framed within medieval Japanese cosmology. Findings reveal how Jien distinguished different kinds of kami by their relation to “Prin­ciples” (dōri).