was an influential Japanese

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

Buddhist monk of the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. He achieved the rank of ''Daisōjō'', the highest rank of the Tendai priesthood and was an influential advisor to various Shoguns, including

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

. He also oversaw the project to carve and print the Kan'ei-ji Edition (also known as Tenkai Edition) of the Chinese Buddhist Canon, which was completed in 1648. His Buddhist name was first , which he changed to Tenkai in 1590. Also known as , he died on 13 November 1643, and was granted the posthumous title of in 1648.

Life

Though believed to have been born in Aizu, much of Tenkai's early life is unclear.He became a monk at Ryūkō-ji Temple, adopting the name ''Zuihū''. At age 14, he studied Tendai Buddhism under Kōshun (皇舜) at Konokawa-dera in Utsunomiya, Shimotsuke Province. He then pursued further studies at Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei in Ōmi Province, Onjō-ji, and Kōfuku-ji in Yamato Province. In 1571, when

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

attacked and burned Mount Hiei, Tenkai took refuge in Kai Province at the invitation of Takeda Shingen. Later, he moved to Inari-dō Hall in Kurokawa Castle (Wakamatsu Castle) under Ashina Morikatsu's invitation. Afterward, he resided at Chōraku-ji Temple in Kōzuke Province before moving to the North Hall of Muryōju-ji Temple (now Kita-in in Kawagoe, Saitama) in 1588, where he adopted the name ''Tenkai''. Tenkai's activities become more prominent after arriving at the North Hall of Muryōju-ji. At this time, he also served as abbot of Edosaki Fudō-in. According to records from Sensō-ji Temple, Tenkai was present in

's camp during the Siege of the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of '' shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this perio ...

, indicating he had originally come to the Kantō region on Ieyasu's behalf. In 1599, Tenkai succeeded Gōkai as the abbot of the North Hall. He later acted as Ieyasu's advisor in negotiations with the Imperial Court and was appointed Tendai Overseer in 1607, residing at Nankōbō and working on the restoration of Enryaku-ji. In 1609, he was appointed Deputy Prelate. 辻達也『日本の歴史江戸開府』中公文庫 In 1612, Tenkai began rebuilding the North Hall and renamed it Kita-in, establishing it as the main temple of the Kantō Tendai branch. In 1613, Ieyasu appointed him Abbot of Nikkō-zan, where he restored the main temple, Kōmyō-in. He was also heavily involved in the ''Hōkō-ji Bell Incident'', which contributed to the outbreak of the Siege of Osaka. In 1616, when Ieyasu was on his deathbed, he entrusted Tenkai with instructions regarding his posthumous title and funeral. After Ieyasu's death, Tenkai advocated for Ieyasu to be enshrined as '' Gongen'' in the Sannō Ichijitsu Shintō tradition, countering the proposal by Ishin Sūden and Honda Masazumi, who suggested the title ''Myōjin''. Tenkai argued that ''Myōjin'' was inauspicious due to the fall of the Toyotomi clan following Toyotomi Hideyoshi's enshrinement as ''Toyokuni Daimyōjin''. Ultimately, Ieyasu was enshrined as ''Tōshō Daigongen'', and his remains were moved from Kunōzan to Nikkō. Tenkai continued to serve as a consultant to the next two Tokugawa shōguns. In 1624, retired shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada and ruling shōgun

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

asked him to establish

Kan'ei-ji (also spelled Kan'eiji or Kaneiji) is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1625 during the Kan'ei era by Tenkai, in an attempt to emulate the powerful religious center Enryaku-ji, in Kyoto. The main object of worship is .Nihon ...

, a Buddhist temple to the northeast of

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established th ...

in Ueno. Tenkai worked to print and publish the entire Buddhist Canon in Japan. With shogunate support, the ''Kan'ei-ji Edition'' (Tenkai Edition) of the ''Tripiṭaka'' was completed in 1648. This printing project is considered one of the most significant achievements in Japanese printing history. Over 260,000 wooden movable type blocks from the Tenkai Edition still survive today. Tenkai passed away in 1643 at the age of 108 (by traditional count). Five years later, the Imperial Court granted him the posthumous title ''Jigan Daishi''.

In popular media

*Tenkai appears as the main villain in the first ''Sakura Wars'' game. *Tenkai appears as the video game '' Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!''. He is the overarching secondary antagonist and final boss. *In the game '' Sengoku Basara 3'' and the anime Sengoku Basara: The Last Party the character Tenkai is portrayed as a cryptic monk who speaks in riddles and wields twin scythes. As with the rumor above, Tenkai is actually a re-skinned model of Akechi Mitsuhide, from the game and anime's predecessor. As of the ''UTAGE'' upgrade of the third game, the series established both Tenkai and Mitsuhide as a same person. *In the '' Onimusha series'', Samanosuke Akechi took on the identity of Tenkai in '' Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams''. *In the video game '' Shin Megami Tensei IV'' Tenkai appears as a National Defense Divinity once the party reaches a later portion of Tokyo. *In the anime and light novels '' Mirage of Blaze,'' Tenkai's name has been mentioned in a crucial part of the story arc, being that an old incantation of his that he had invoked centuries ago would be the key for Lord Kagetora Uesugi and his team to stop their enemies in controlling the Feudal Underworld and the living world. *He appears in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order as an antagonist of the event GUDAGUDA Imperial Capital Grail. He is truly

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...

and he quickly reveals his identity. *Tenkai appears in the games '' Nioh'' and '' Nioh 2'', as both a Buddhist monk and a powerful onmyōji that helps the protagonists of both games. As with most works of fiction involving Tenkai, his real identity is that of

. In the games, his betrayal of

was a result of being manipulated by the sequel's antagonist Kashin Koji, becoming the monk "Tenkai" to repent for his crimes.

Gallery

File:Tenkai - Rule of November Memorial Service for Zhi-yi - Google Art Project.jpg, Rule of Shimotsukie written by Tenkai File:KaneijiPagoda1270.jpg, Tenkai established Kan'ei-ji in 1624 File:Rinnoji jigendo haka.jpg, Tenkai's grave File:Jigendo Otsu06n4592.jpg, Jigendo in Sakamoto, Otsu

References

External sites

KITAIN site

Kaneiji Temple
Japanese)
Kaneiji Temple
English)

(IPA, an agency of the Government of Japan)

{{People of the Sengoku period , state=autocollapse Japanese Buddhist clergy Japanese men centenarians 1536 births 1643 deaths Buddhist clergy of the Edo period Tendai Buddhist monks