Mongaku (文覚) was a Japanese

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

and Shingon Buddhist priest of the late

Heian The Japanese word Heian (平安, lit. "peace") may refer to: * Heian period, an era of Japanese history * Heian-kyō, the Heian-period capital of Japan that has become the present-day city of Kyoto * Heian series, a group of karate kata (forms) * ...

and early

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

. He was a close associate of

shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

, having contributed to the declaration of the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yori ...

Myōe (February 21, 1173 – February 11, 1232) was a Japanese bhikkhu, Buddhist monk active during the Kamakura period who also went by the name Kōben (, Chinese: 高辨, Gāo Biàn). He was a contemporary of Jōkei (monk), Jōkei and Hōnen. Bio ...

was the disciple of his disciple Jōkaku. His secular name, before

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

, was Endō Moritō. He is also known as Mongaku Shōnin.

Life

Mongaku doing penace at the Nachi waterfall

Mongaku was born the son of Endō Mochitō, a samurai in the Watanabe faction of the Settsu Genji clan (a branch of the

Minamoto clan was a Aristocracy (class), noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the Imperial House of Japan, imperial family who were excluded from the List of emperors of Japan, line of succession and demoted into the ranks of Nobili ...

). He initially served in the Imperial Palace Guards of the North Side. He fell in love with Kesa, the wife of Minamoto no Wataru, but killed her by accident. Out of repentance, he then ordinated as a priest, visiting sacred places across the country. Mongaku moved to live at Jingo-ji temple in 1168, and participated in its restoration work motivated by his reverence towards

Kūkai , born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the Vajrayana, esoteric Shingon Buddhism, Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) und ...

. In 1173, he requested a manorial temple estate for Jingo-ji from Cloistered

Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''in ...

, resulting in Mongaku being exiled to

Izu Province was a province of Japan in the area now part of Shizuoka Prefecture and Tokyo. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Izu''" in . Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The mainland portion of Izu Prov ...

. During his exile in Izu, he met the future shogun

. In 1178, he was allowed to return to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. His respect for the Cloistered Emperor was never lost even after his exile, and in 1180, he urged Yoritomo to make a call to arms and declare

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

against the

Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of History of Japan, Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto clan, Minamoto, the Fujiwara clan, Fuji ...

, whom the Cloistered Emperor had ordered to be destroyed. According to ''Gyokuyō'', Yoritomo sent Mongaku to

Kiso Yoshinaka , also known as , was a Japanese samurai lord mentioned in the epic poem ''The Tale of the Heike.'' A member of the Minamoto clan, he was a cousin and later rival of ''shogun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and th ...

to accuse him of negligence in the punitive expedition against the Taira clan and of being reckless in Kyoto. After the destruction of the Taira clan and the establishment of the

Kamakura Shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

, Mongaku was a highly trusted associate of Yoritomo. After his successful role in the declaration of war against the Taira clan, Mongaku's request was finally heard, and the Cloistered Emperor gave the Kaseda Manor in

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

to Jingo-ji in 1183. After this, the temple received further estates from both Yoritomo and the Cloistered Emperor. By 1190, the temple buildings were almost completely restored. After the restoration of Jingo-ji, he also restored Tō-ji temple, also out of reverence towards Kūkai, and in 1189,

Harima Province or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During th ...

was designated a ''zōkoku'' (a province to bear the expenses of a construction of a shrine or temple). In 1197, the restoration was complete. Mongaku lost his benefactors when the Cloistered Emperor died in 1192 and Yoritomo died in 1199. After the two died, Minister of the Interior

Minamoto no Michichika was a Japanese noble and statesman of the late Heian period and early Kamakura period. Serving in the courts of seven different emperors, he brought the Murakami Genji to the peak of their success. He is also commonly known as , and in Sōtō ...

exiled Mongaku to

Sado Province was a province of Japan until 1871; since then, it has been a part of Niigata Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sado''" in . It was sometimes called or . It lies on the eponymous Sado Island, off the coast of Niigata Prefectur ...

for

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

against the government for his alleged involvement in the Sansaemon incident. He was allowed to return to Kyoto in 1202, but was exiled to Tsushima Province the following year by Emperor Emeritus Go-Toba; Mongaku died in exile in Tsushima.

Sansaemon Incident Mastermind Theory

Megumi Sogabe believes that Mongaku was the mastermind of

Prince Morisada Prince Morisada ( 6 April 1179 – 14 June 1223) was a Japanese prince and retired emperor during the early Kamakura period of Japan. He was the second son of Emperor Takakura and a lady-in-waiting. He was the father of Emperor Go-Horikawa and ...

's conspiracy, known as the Sansaemon incident. She argues that this is indicated by the facts that: the two exiles were connected based on the description in

The Tale of the Heike is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). It has been translated into English at least five times. ...

stating that the exile to Tsushima was caused by a dispute over the return of the estates of Jingo-ji, which were confiscated by the Emperor Emeritus Go-Toba after the incident; his punishment was heavier than that of his relatives in the court; the estates of Jingo-ji were immediately returned after the death of Emperor Emeritus Go-Toba.

Personality

In ''

Gukanshō is a historical and literary work about the history of Japan. Seven volumes in length, it was composed by Buddhist priest Jien of the Tendai sect around 1220. Political problems arising from the relations between the Imperial government and ...

'', Mongaku is described as a reckless, uneducated man of action, who spoke ill of others and revered

Tengu ''Tengu'' ( ; , , ) are a type of legendary creature found in Shinto belief. They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods or spirits). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of bird of ...

. It also states that Mongaku and Yoritomo were close friends who spent four years all day together. According to ''Seiashō'', there were rumors that Mongaku hated

Saigyō was a Japanese poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Biography Born in Kyoto to a noble family, he lived during the traumatic transition of power between the old court nobles and the new samurai warriors. After the start of the ag ...

, a monk of the same period.{{Cite book , url=https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/2567710 , title=Seiashō , publisher=Honya Seibee , others=Ton'a , year=1686 , at=巻六

References

Buddhists of the Heian period Buddhists of the Kamakura period Samurai Shingon Buddhist monks