The story of Enryaku-ji and the Tendai sect
Saicho, the founder of the Tendai sect
In the mid 8th century, Emperor Kammu was planning to relocate the capital from Nara after great misfortune and evil spirits were thought to have invaded the capital. He looked over the valley from Shogunzuka, a temple to the southeast and saw that the area was surrounded by mountains on three sides (north, east & west) and a big body of water (Lake Ogura to the south). He knew that this area would be ideal to build Heian-Kyo, the new capital of peace and tranquility.
According to the laws of geomancy, the bad and evil spirits are likely to enter from the northeast corner of a city. In Heian-Kyo's case Mount Hiei stands in that corner. Emperor Kammu went to Hiei to "seal" this dangerous corner and found Saicho (767-822), a monk who had lived a hermit life in the mountain.
Saicho was born into aristocracy, but soon chose to become a Buddhist monk. He was devoted and studious, but eventually grew apart from the busy town life and escaped with a few followers in 788 into the mountains to build a small temple and hermitage to focus on their devotion to buddhas teachings.
In 804 Emperor Kammu sent him off to China to study Buddhism at Mount Tiantai (in Japanese Tendai). When Saicho returned, he established the teaching center Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei.
Enryaku-ji's height of power
Enryaku-ji built the foundation of Buddhism in Japan with Tendai as the first established sect. Over the years it grew from a small seminary to one of the largest complexes in the world. At the height of its power, between the 11th and 15th centuries, the temple spread twenty miles in all directions and had 400 sub-temples. Nearly all big figures in Japanese Buddhism went to Hiei-san at one point or another to study. These include:
- Honen, founder of pure land Buddhism
- Shinran, founder of true pure land Buddhism
- Ippen, founder of the Ji sect
- Eisai, founder of Rinzai
- Dogen, of Soto zen
- Nichiren, of Sokka Gakkai and Nichiren sect
Enryakuji was soon to be known as the Mother of Japanese Buddhism.
The forces of Enryaku-ji
Although being called the Mother of Japanese Buddhism, Enryakuji grew too powerful and with its growing power and size, by the 11th century the temple started acquiring war monks skilled in fighting. Over time these troops grew to be one of the most powerful armies in Japan.
From time to time these forces would come down the mountain into the city to push on the demands of the temple and even the emperor was powerless to resist. At one point Emperor Shirakawa said:
“There are three things that I cannot control. The waters of Kamogawa, the roll of the dice, and the monks of Mount Hiei. - Emperor Shirawaka”
For centuries Enryakuji continued to throw its weight around this way, even threatening the early Zen followers and at some point there was a war conflict with a rival Tendai group at Miidera in Otsu. The worst war incident became the treatment of the Nichiren sect with its peak in 1536, when all 21 Nichiren temples in Kyoto were destroyed with the monks slaughtered.
The downfall of Enryaku-ji
The downfall of Enryaku-ji came 35 years later in 1571, when Oda Nobunaga (who unified Japan), turned on the monks of Mount Hiei.
“If I do not take them away now, this great trouble will be ever-lasting. Moreover, these priests violate their vows: they eat fish and stinking vegetables, keep concubines, and never unfold the sacred books. How can they be vigilant against evil, or maintain the right? Surround their dens and burn them, and suffer none within them to live! - Oda Nobunaga”
Nobunaga’s troops marched up the mountain and laid waste to the temple. 25,000 people were massacred and 3,000 buildings set to flame. The sky remained bright red for 3 days and Kyoto was covered in ash.
Eventually, Enryaku-ji recovered after Nobunaga's death, but never returned to its original size. Now, still being impressive in size, the temple measures just one-twentieth of its original size with some 130 buildings. The main temple, facing east away from Kyoto, is still now protecting the former capital from the evil.