Illustrated biography of Kobo Daishi

Japanese: 弘法大師絵伝 - こうぼうだいしえでん

This is a biographical picture scroll of Kobo Daishi Kukai, the founder of Shingon Buddhism. It depicts his life, full of miraculous events, from his birth to his visit to China and his nirvana, as well as his posthumous glory. During the Kamakura period, biographical picture scrolls of the founders of various sects flourished, and within that climate, this illustrated biography also became widely circulated as a teaching tool at Shingon temples from around the 13th century. The originals of all three versions, the 10-volume "Kōso Daishi Himitsu Engi" (mid-13th century), the 6-volume "Kōya Daishi Gyōjō Zuga" (around 1272), and the 10-volume "Kōya Daishi Gyōjō Zuga" (around 1319), have been lost, and many later transcriptions and prints remain.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

真言宗の開祖である弘法大師空海の伝記絵巻。誕生から入唐，入定まで，あるいは死後の栄誉をも含め，奇瑞にみちた一代記を描く。鎌倉時代には各宗の祖師の伝記絵巻が隆盛したが，その風潮の中でこの絵伝も13世紀ころから真言宗寺院の教化の具として大いに流布した。《高祖大師秘密縁起》10巻(13世紀半ば)，《高野大師行状図画》6巻(1272ころ)，同10巻(1319ころ)の3系統はいずれも原本は失われ，後世の転写本や版本が多数のこる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Legal Marxism (English spelling: legal'nyi marksizm [Russian])

>>: Legality