File:Eight_Patriarchs_of_the_Shingon_Sect_of_Buddhism_Kukai_Cropped.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Kūkai
Sign in to saveAlso known as Kukai, Kōbō Daishi, Kobo Daishi, Kuukai, Shi Konghai, Bianzhaojingang, Hongfa dashi, Konghai
, born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the esoteric Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) under the monk Huiguo. Upon returning to Japan, he founded Shingon—the Japanese branch of Vajrayana Buddhism. With the blessing of several Emperors, Kūkai was able to preach Shingon teachings and found Shingon temples. Like other influential monks, Kūkai oversaw public works and constructions. Mount Kōya was chosen by him as a holy site, and he spent his later years there until his deat
OverviewAI-generated
Kūkai (774–835) was a Japanese lexicographer, linguist, poet, and calligrapher. Born at Zentsū-ji Temple, he was a student of Hui-kuo and later taught Takaoka-shinnō. His religious affiliation was Buddhism, and he was part of the Sanpitsu group. He died on Mount Kōya and was buried at Okuno-in Temple. His posthumous name is 弘法大師.
Notable works include Bunkyō Hifuron, Tenrei Banshō Meigi, and Sangō Shiiki. Other listed works include 弘法大師著作全集, 弘法大師真蹟集成, 三教指歸, 性靈集, 實語教, and いろは歌. He was a relative of Enchin.
Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Last.fm, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 774
- Died
- 834
- Works
- 24
Top works
- 弘法大師著作全集
- 弘法大師真蹟集成
- 三教指歸; 性靈集
- 實語教
- いろは歌
via Open Library + Wikidata
Key facts
- Religious biography.alias
- <!--
- Religious biography.birthname
- -->
- Religious biography.birth_date
- 27 July 774(15th day, 6th month, Hōki 5)
- Religious biography.birth_place
- Zentsūji, Sanuki Province, Japan
- Religious biography.death_date
- 22 April 835 (aged 60)(21st day, 3rd month, Jōwa 2)
- Religious biography.death_place
- Mount Kōya, Japan
- Religious biography.religion
- Buddhism
- Religious biography.school
- Vajrayana, Shingon
- Religious biography.teacher
- Huiguo
- Religious biography.name
- Kūkai
- Religious biography.native_name
- 空海
- Religious biography.native_name_lang
- ja
- Religious biography.image
- Eight Patriarchs of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism Kukai Cropped.jpg
- Religious biography.caption
- Painting of Kūkai from the Shingon Hassozō, a set of scrolls depicting the first eight patriarchs of the Shingon school. Japan, Kamakura period (13th–14th centuries).
- Religious biography.known_for
- Founder of Shingon Buddhism
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Japan
- Place of death
- Mount Kōya
- Occupation
- philosopher
- Languages spoken
- Japanese
- Native language
- Japanese
- Religion
- Buddhism
- Participant in
- Japanese missions to Tang China
- Student of
- Hui-kuo
- Image
- Kukai2.jpg
Show 18 more facts
- Commons category
- Kukai
- date of birth
- 0774-07-27
- date of death
- 0835-04-22
- birth name
- 佐伯眞魚
- topic's main category
- Category:Kūkai
- name in native language
- 空海
- place of burial
- Okuno-in Temple
- student
- Takaoka-shinnō
- described by source
- New International Encyclopedia
- posthumous name
- 弘法大師
- manner of death
- natural causes
- ethnic group
- Japanese people
- writing language
- kanbun
- art name
- 遍照金剛
- pseudonym
- お大師様
- name in kana
- くうかい
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
- Commons Creator page
- Kūkai
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~25 min read
Encyclopedic overview
16 sectionsContents
- Biography
- Early years
- Travel and study in China
- Emerging from obscurity
- Mount Kōya
- Public works
- Tō-ji period
- Final years
- Kūkai devotion and mantra
- Stories and legends
- In popular culture
- Gallery
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
, born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the esoteric Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) under the monk Huiguo. Upon returning to Japan, he founded Shingon—the Japanese branch of Vajrayana Buddhism. With the blessing of several Emperors, Kūkai was able to preach Shingon teachings and found Shingon temples. Like other influential monks, Kūkai oversaw public works and constructions. Mount Kōya was chosen by him as a holy site, and he spent his later years there until his death in 835 CE.
Because of his importance in Japanese Buddhism, Kūkai is associated with many stories and legends. One such legend attributes the invention of the kana syllabary to Kūkai, with which the Japanese language is written to this day (in combination with kanji), as well as the Iroha poem, which helped to standardise and popularise kana. thumb|Portrait of Amoghavajra, one of the five [[Portraits of Seven Shingon Patriarchs that Kūkai brought back commissioned by Huiguo, painted by Li Zhen (housed at Tō-ji), [NT]]] Shingon followers usually refer to Kūkai by the honorific title of , and the religious name of .
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kūkai” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.