Gyoga

Japanese: 行賀 - ぎょうが

Year of death: 22.2.8 (3.4.803)
Year of birth: Tenpyo 1 (729)
A monk in the Nara and early Heian periods. He was born in Hirose County, Yamato Province (around Kitakatsuragi County, Nara Prefecture). According to one theory, he died on March 8th. His secular surname was Kamitsugano Kimiuji. He became a monk at the age of 15, belonged to Kofuku-ji Temple, and entered China in 752. He spent the next 31 years studying the Yuishiki (Hosso) and Hokke (Tendai) sects in China. In 759, he copied out the Seikyo Yomon and other texts, and returned to Japan with many sutras. He became a monk in 779, a junior sozu in 784, and a daisozu in 786. He also served as the head priest of Kofuku-ji Temple. There is a seated statue of him at Kofuku-ji Temple. There is an anecdote in his graduation biography that says that on the day he returned to Japan, he was put to a test on his academic ability and was very embarrassed when he was unable to answer the questions, but this was because he had been in China for so long and had forgotten the Japanese language.

(Hiroyuki Sagimori)

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

Japanese:

没年：延暦22.2.8(803.3.4)
生年：天平1(729)
奈良・平安初期の僧。大和国広瀬郡(奈良県北葛城郡周辺)の出身。一説に3月8日没。俗姓は上毛野公氏。15歳で出家,興福寺に属し,天平勝宝4(752)年入唐し,以降31年間に渡って唐で唯識(法相),法華(天台)宗を学んだ。天平宝字3(759)年に『聖教要文』などを書写し多くの経典を持って帰国した。宝亀10(779)年律師,延暦3(784)年少僧都,同15年大僧都となった。また興福寺別当でもあった。興福寺にはその座像がある。卒伝には,帰国の日に学業を試され,返答できずに大いに恥じたが,それは長く唐にあり日本語を忘れていたからであったという逸話がある。

(鷺森浩幸)

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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