Kanken - Kanken

Japanese: 観賢 - かんけん

Year of death: 11th June 1925 (4th July 925)
Year of birth: 853
A Shingon Buddhist monk from the mid-Heian period. He was also called "Kangen." He was the person who unified the Shingon sect, which was on the verge of fragmentation, and laid the groundwork for Kukai's belief in nirvana. He was born in Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture), the same place as Kukai, and is said to have been from either the Hata or Tomo clan. He became a monk under Kukai's younger brother, Shinga, and received the transmission of the Dharma from Shobo. He was well versed in both jisso (esoteric Buddhist rituals) and kyosso (esoteric Buddhist theory), and after assuming the position of betto at Ninna-ji in 900, he served as head priest and legal affairs officer at To-ji, inspector at Todai-ji, first head priest at Daigo-ji, and head priest and inspector at Kongobu-ji during the Engi era (901-923), and took control of the various large Shingon temples. He unified these around To-ji, and built a system that could rival the dominant Tendai esoteric Buddhism. He also lobbied the Imperial Court to grant a posthumous name to Kukai, who had been overtaken by Dengyo Daishi Saicho, and, despite struggling with opposition from the Tendai side, he was finally granted the posthumous name of Kobo Daishi on October 27, 921, paving the way for later generations to worship the great master. The official history, Shoku Nihon Koki, states that Kukai's remains were cremated, but the Konjaku Monogatari tells us that when the announcement of the posthumous name was made at the opening of the stone chamber of the tomb at Mount Koya, Kanken saw Kukai sitting as if he were alive within the chamber. <References> "Commemorative Issue of the 1000th Anniversary of the Death of Sojo Kanken" (Esoteric Buddhism Research, No. 5)

(Masaki Akira)

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

Japanese:

没年：延長3.6.11(925.7.4)
生年：仁寿3(853)
平安中期の真言宗の僧。「かんげん」ともいう。分裂傾向にあった真言宗を統括し,空海の入定信仰に布石を打った人物。空海と同じ讃岐(香川県)の生まれ。秦氏とも伴氏出身ともいう。空海の実弟,真雅のもとで出家し,聖宝に伝法灌頂を受ける。事相(密教修法)と教相(密教理論)両面に通達し,昌泰3(900)年,仁和寺別当就任を果たしたのち,延喜年間(901～23)に東寺長者および法務,東大寺検校,醍醐寺初代座主,金剛峰寺座主・検校を歴任あるいは兼任し,真言宗諸大寺を掌握。これらを東寺中心に統合して,優勢な天台密教に対抗しうる体制を築いた。また伝教大師最澄に先を越されていた空海への諡号(おくり名)を賜るべく朝廷にはたらきかけ,天台側の妨害に苦しみながらも,ついに延喜21(921)年10月27日,弘法大師の諡号を得て,後世の大師信仰に道を開いた。正史『続日本後紀』には空海の遺骸は荼毘に付されたとあるが,『今昔物語』には,諡号宣下を高野山の御廟石室を開いて報告したとき,観賢が石室内に空海の生けるが如く座す姿を見たと伝えている。<参考文献>「観賢僧正一千年忌記念号」(『密教研究』5号)

(正木晃)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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