En no Ozunu

Japanese: 役小角 - えんのおづぬ

Year of birth: Unknown
En no Gyoja was a 7th or 8th century religious shamanic leader who is said to be the founder of Shugendo. He was a descendant of the Kamo clan, later known as Takakamo no Ason, and is said to have been from Kayahara Village, Katsuragikami County, Yamato Province (Gose City, Nara Prefecture). He trained on Mount Katsuragi in Yamato Province, and became known as a divine immortal with excellent magical skills, giving rise to many legends. Hoping to ride on a five-colored cloud, fly through the sky, commune with divine immortals in their palaces, and inhale spiritual energy to nourish his body and mind, he retreated to a cave, wore kudzu, ate pine leaves, bathed in pure springs, washed away the dirt of the world, and trained in the mountains. He mastered the magic of the Peacock King, and used demons to make him fetch water and gather firewood, and when the demons did not follow his orders, he used his magical powers to restrain them. He was said to be a Buddhist ascetic, and was called En'upasaka, but in order to become a divine immortal who could live forever, he retreated to the mountains, did not eat grains, and instead devoted himself to his asceticism by eating pine needles and grass roots. He was an ascetic who was skilled in Taoist medicine and horoscopes. In 699, he was exiled to Izu Province, because his disciple Ren Hirosoku of Korea was jealous of him and reported him for misleading people with sorcery. In another case, when he ordered the gods to build a bridge between Mount Kinpu and Mount Katsuragi in Yamato, the gods lamented and Ichinotonushi-no-Okami of Mount Katsuragi possessed a person and slandered En's conspiracy to destroy the emperor. The emperor tried to capture him, but was unable to do so due to En's powerful powers, so he instead captured his mother as a hostage. In order to have his mother released, he allowed himself to become a prisoner and was exiled, but he continued to practice asceticism, spending the day in Izu and climbing Mount Fuji at night, and it is said that he was finally able to fly into the heavens, and after his sins were forgiven, he became a god and flew off into the sky. It is said that Zao Gongen, the principal image of Shugendo, emerged when En no Gyozuno prayed on Mount Kinpu to make a Buddha suitable for saving all living beings appear. As the founder of Shugendo, he was given the posthumous title of Shinpen Daibosatsu by the Imperial Court in 1799 (Kansei 11). <References> Shoku Nihongi, Keikai's Nihon Ryōiki

(Kunimitsu Kawamura)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
7,8世紀の呪術的宗教家,役行者の名で修験道の開祖とされる。賀茂の一族,のちの高賀茂朝臣の出身で,大和国葛木上郡茅原村(奈良県御所市)の人と伝えられる。大和国葛城山で修行し,呪術にすぐれた神仙として知られ,多くの伝説が生み出された。五色の雲に乗り,大空を飛び,神仙の宮殿で神仙と交わり,心身を養う霊気を吸いたいと願い,岩窟に籠もり,葛を身にまとい,松の葉を食べ,清泉で沐浴し,世俗の汚れを落とし,山林で修行した。孔雀王の呪法を修得し,鬼神を使役して,水を汲ませたり,薪を採らせたりし,鬼神が命に従わないと,験力で自由を束縛した。役優婆塞とも称されるように,仏道修行者とされるが,不老長生の神仙となるために,山林に籠もり,穀物を口にしないで,松の葉や草の根を食料として修行に専心していたので,道教の医術や方術に習熟した行者であった。文武3(699)年,弟子の韓国連広足に妬まれて,妖術で人々を惑わしていると密告され,伊豆国に流罪にされた。また別に,大和の金峰山と葛城山の間に橋を架け渡せと神々に命じたところ,神々は嘆き,葛城山の一言主大神がある人に乗り移って,役小角が陰謀を企んで,天皇を滅ぼそうとしていると讒言したといわれる。天皇は捕らえようとしたが,役小角の験力のためにかなわず,代わりに母親を人質として捕らえた。母を釈放してもらうために,自ら囚われの身となり,流刑となったが,昼間は伊豆で,夜間は富士山に登って修行を重ね,遂に天を飛ぶことができるようになり,罪を許されると,神仙となって天空に飛び去ったといわれる。修験道の本尊,蔵王権現は,金峰山上で役小角が衆生を救済するのにふさわしい仏を出現させようとして祈願して,湧出させたものという。修験道の開祖として,寛政11(1799)年には,朝廷から神変大菩薩の諡号が贈られた。<参考文献>『続日本紀』,景戒『日本霊異記』

(川村邦光)

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