Faith - Kyoushin

Japanese: 教信 - きょうしん

Year of death: 866
Year of birth: Unknown A nembutsu saint in the early Heian period. He lived in a hermitage at Kako Station in Kako County, Harima Province (Kakogawa City, Hyogo Prefecture), married, and recited the nembutsu day and night for the rest of his life. People called him Amidamaru. On the day of his death, he appeared to the monk Katsunyo of Katsuo-ji Temple in Settsu Province (Osaka Prefecture), and predicted that he and Katsunyo would go to paradise. His single-minded nembutsu was noticed in later generations by monks who practiced exclusive nembutsu (chanting the nembutsu wholeheartedly), such as Shinran and Ippen, and he was considered an ideal nembutsu saint. He has been featured in many literary works, such as Ojoden and story collections such as "Konjaku Monogatari" and the Noh song "Noguchi Hangan," but his true image is unclear. <References> "Nihon Ojo Gokurakuki," Hirabayashi Moritoku, "The transformation of the novice monk Kyoshin tale" ("Rekishi Kyoiku," Vol. 14, No. 9)

(Ohara Jin)

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

Japanese:

没年：貞観8(866)
生年：生年不詳
平安前期の念仏聖。播磨国賀古郡賀古駅(兵庫県加古川市)に草庵を結び,妻帯して,一生の間昼夜も休まず念仏した。人々は彼を阿弥陀丸と呼んだ。死没の当日,摂津国(大阪府)勝尾寺の僧勝如のもとに現れ,自身と勝如の極楽往生を予告したという。彼の一心不乱の念仏は,後世,親鸞や一遍などの専修念仏(ひたすら念仏をとなえる)の僧侶によって注目され理想の念仏聖とされた。往生伝や『今昔物語』をはじめとする説話集や謡曲『野口判官』などの文芸作品に多く取り上げられたが,その実像は不鮮明である。<参考文献>『日本往生極楽記』,平林盛得「沙弥教信説話の変貌」(『歴史教育』14巻9号)

(小原仁)

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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