Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1: 157–182© 2015 Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture

Takagishi Akira 髙岸 輝

The Reproduction of Engi and Memorial Offerings
Multiple Generations of the Ashikaga Shoguns
and the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki

The Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki, a set of illustrated handscrolls reproduced on
an ongoing basis from the 1300s into the 1500s, provides a striking example ofthe enduring ritual, social, and artistic relevance of an engi in the years after its
creation. By examining the personnel and dating of multiple copies, this article
demonstrates that the engi was used in memorial rites for successive generations of Ashikaga shōguns. In addition to supporting ritual practice, the project to continually reproduce the engi also drove cross-media adaptation andmobilized complex networks of patrons, calligraphers, painters, and monastic
fundraisers.

keywords: Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki—Ashikaga Shoguns—Seiryōji—memorialrites (tsuizen)—handscrolls—printing—kanjin—Ryōnin—Ryōchin

Takagishi Akira is an Associate Professor of art history at the University of Tokyo.

157

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he Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki 融通念仏縁起絵巻 was created near the endof the Kamakura period in 1314 (Shōwa 正和 3), and then reproducedon an ongoing basis from the Northern and Southern Courts period
through the Muromachi. Today more than ten copies are preserved; these form
an important group of works that have drawn the attention of scholars of art,
literature, and religion (for important studies, see Iwahashi 1931; Tashiro 1976;
Matsubara 1991; Uchida 1997; Itō 2000; and Abe 2013). Although its title
includes the word “engi,” in terms of content, the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki differs significantly from illustrated handscrolls whose narratives conform to thejisha engi stereotype by explaining the founding of a temple or shrine, or the
miracles worked by an icon of a buddha or kami. In this engi, the first half ofthe narrative takes the form of a biography of an eminent monk, namely Ryōnin
良忍 (1073–1132), who originated the practice of the yūzū nenbutsu. The second
half, which is set in the years following Ryōnin’s death, enumerates the various
blessings enjoyed by people of both high and low status by virtue of the merit of
nenbutsu practice.
The Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki evinces a number of striking characteristics.
That it was repeatedly copied throughout the Muromachi period speaks to its
continuity. The scrolls also have a strong collective quality: under the leadershipof the Ashikaga shoguns, luminaries such as retired emperors and senior nobles
produced the calligraphy for the text (kotobagaki 詞書) of the extant versions,while multiple painters collaborated to produce the illustrations. Furthermore,
the scrolls have a documentary character due to the fact that the kotobagaki
record the dates upon which they were inscribed. Finally, in terms of format, thescrolls are decidedly multifarious: although they were initially produced as conventional handwritten and hand-painted manuscripts, they were subsequently
printed, and then converted back into manuscript form.
In this article, I demonstrate on a case-by-case basis that the various copiesof the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki were produced to generate posthumous meritfor the Ashikaga shoguns, men who were known in their own day as the Muromachi-dono 室町殿. As Abe Mika (2013) has pointed out, the scrolls functioned
in part as fundraising registers (kanjinchō 勧進帳) among devotees of the yūzū
nenbutsu, and the Ashikaga shoguns certainly saw themselves as grand patrons.
The use of engi in funerary rites, however, seems to have been quite rare. Whatever the motivations of the shoguns and their family members may have been,158

takagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 159

their repeated engagement with the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki is a striking caseof the ritual use of engi, as well as of the production of engi as ritual objects.
The Contents of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki and its Reproduction
Extant versions of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki can be divided into threegroups. The first is known as the Shōwa group because it stems from an original dating to 1314 (Shōwa 3). The second is the Ryōchin holograph kanjin
group, which was created during the Northern and Southern Courts period
in the context of kanjin campaigns conducted by Ryōchin 良鎮 (n.d.) between
1381 and 1387. The third is comprised of printed versions of the engi, which werefirst produced in the course of Ryōchin’s kanjin in 1391 (Meitoku 明徳 2): these
are known as the Meitoku print group. Through his involvement in the production of multiple, even printed, versions of the engi, Ryōchin promoted the
Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki throughout the country and increased the number of those with karmic connections to the nenbutsu (nenbutsu no kechiensha 念仏の結縁者). The goal was to pray for rebirth in the Pure Land, a pattern
we also see in kanjin campaigns at Taimadera 当麻寺, a famous center for Pure
Land devotion in Yamato, where the names of more than 2,150 kechiensha were
inscribed on the cabinet (zushi 厨子) built in 1242 to store the Taima mandala
当麻曼荼羅. Scrolls in the Ryōchin holograph kanjin group were largely financed
by powerful families from Yamato Province, including the Ochi 越智, whose base
was in the area around Taimadera. Contributors formed a karmic tie throughtheir support of the project to reproduce the engi, and had their names enteredon a register that was then placed in the bottom of the Taima mandala cabinet.
By contrast, with the Meitoku group, it is clear that the retired emperor, senioraristocrats, eminent monks, shogun, and daimyo participated in the inscription of the kotobagaki. All of these men had strong connections to the capital.
Thus, although Ryōchin conducted the fundraising in both cases, the scrolls
from the later Meitoku group boasted patrons of a much higher social position
than those of the holograph kanjin group.
Several important extant copies of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki belong to the
Meitoku print group. These include the 1391 Meitoku print version itself, which ispreserved at Dainenbutsuji 大念佛寺 and elsewhere; the Seiryōji 清凉寺 version,
which dates to circa 1414 (Ōei 応永 21) and for which the fourth Ashikaga shogun,
Ashikaga Yoshimochi 足利義持 (1386–1428), inscribed part of the kotobagaki in
his own hand; and the Zenrinji 禅林寺 version, which appears to have been completed around 1465 (Kanshō 寛正 6) and for which the eighth shogun, Ashikaga
Yoshimasa 足利義政 (1435–1490), inscribed a portion of the kotobagaki.
The following discussion provides an analysis of the aims driving the production of the Meitoku print, Seiryōji, and Zenrinji versions. Because these are later160 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
copies, too often they have been seen to be of value only as ancillary sources. In
fact, the reproduction of the engi has much to tell us about the ways in which
religious narratives and illustrated handscrolls circulated and functioned inmedieval society. As we shall see, the Ashikaga shoguns and their associates created engi for specific ritual ends through processes that not only strengthened
but also enacted social ties.
Before proceeding to an analysis of how and why the Ashikaga shoguns used
the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki, it is necessary to describe the contents of thescrolls (for full-color reproductions, see Itō 2000). The following explanation isbased on works belonging to the Meitoku print group, which, as just noted, centers on a set of printed copies of the engi. Scroll and scene numbers are derived
from the Seiryōji version, which is associated with the Meitoku print group but
was in fact produced as a handwritten and hand-painted copy.
Scroll one, scene 1: at age twenty-three, Ryōnin, who has climbed Mt. Hiei toundertake Buddhist practice, goes into seclusion at Ōhara 大原, where he leads alife focused on nenbutsu concentration (nenbutsu zanmai 念仏三昧).
Scene 2: In the summer of Ryōnin’s forty-sixth year, Amida appears to him ina waking dream and grants him instruction in the yūzū nenbutsu. The central
teaching is one of mutuality: due to one person’s nenbutsu, many attain birth in
the Pure Land, and due to many people’s nenbutsu, the individual attains birthin the Pure Land.
Scene 3: Beginning with Retired Emperor Toba 鳥羽 (1103–1156; r. 1107–1123),
Ryōnin promulgates the nenbutsu among all kinds of people, both high and low.
As he records their names in his register (myōchō 名帳), his following grows.
Scenes 4 through 7: Ryōnin records the name of the Kuramadera 鞍馬寺
Bishamonten 毘沙門天 (Sk. Vaiśravaṇa) in his register; then, with that deity’s
assistance, he adds the names of a large number of gods, from Bonten 梵天 (Sk.
Brahma) and Taishakuten 帝釈天 (Sk. Indra), to the twelve heavenly generals
and the ten kings, to kami such the Kamo 賀茂 and Ise 伊勢 deities. Eventually,
even the birds and beasts lend their ears to Ryōnin’s teaching.
Scene 8: At age sixty, Ryōnin attains rebirth at the Raigōin 来迎院 in Ōhara.
Auspicious signs, such as a wonderful smell and trailing purple clouds, surrounded his deathbed. His body is said to be as light as a feather.
Scene 9: Later, Ryōnin appears in a dream to the Ōhara monk Kakugon 覚厳,
informing him that he has achieved the highest grade of the highest birth in thePure Land.
The second scroll takes up accounts of the merit of the yūzū nenbutsu, withepisodes extending from the time following Ryōnin’s death up through the
beginning of the fourteenth century, when the scrolls were created.
Scroll 2, scene 2: Retired Emperor Toba has the recitation of the nenbutsu
increased from a hundred to a thousand repetitions.

takagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 161

Scroll 2, scene 6: When an aristocratic nun achieves birth in the Pure Land,
there are auspicious signs, such as numinous clouds and an extraordinary scent.
Scene 7: The wife of a certain oxherd is on the verge of dying in childbirth,but is saved through the nenbutsu.
Scene 8: When the wife of a certain monk dies, she is taken before King Enma
閻魔王; however, she avoids being cast into hell because of the nenbutsu, andcomes back to life.
Scene 9: When an epidemic ravages the village of Yono 与野 (contemporary
Saitama City) in Musashi Province, the local myōshu 名主 recite the nenbutsu,
create a register upon which they inscribe their families’ names, and thereby
escape infection. However, the daughter of a myōshu who, being elsewhere, isunable to record the names of his family members, falls ill and dies.
Scene 10: The Meitoku print group includes a scene at the end of the scroll
depicting the great yūzū nenbutsu (yūzū dai nenbutsu 融通大念仏), an annualrite held at Seiryōji. (Note that this scene does not occur in the Shōwa group or
the Ryōchin holograph kanjin group.)
The Meitoku Print Version and theTwenty-third Memorial Service for Ashikaga Yoshiakira
The Meitoku print version of the engi, which Ryōchin helped to print, was a largescale project involving the creation of wood blocks for both the pictures and the
kotobagaki; it thus occupies a significant place in the history of Japanese printing. Though we may infer that a significant number of copies were printed in the
Meitoku era, at present only the one held by Dainenbutsuji in Osaka and a second copy mounted on byōbu screens in a private collection are now known. To
date, there has been some speculation about the circumstances under which the
Meitoku print version was produced. Uchida Keiichi (1997; 1998) has advanced
the hypothesis that the handscrolls were printed to generate posthumous meritfor Nijō Yoshimoto 二条良基 (1320–1388), who was active during the Northernand Southern Courts period. Several pieces of evidence have been adduced insupport of this interpretation. First, the kotobagaki confirms the participationof Yoshimoto’s son Morotsugu 師嗣, his foster-son Ryōgen 良玄, his uncle Ryōyu
良瑜, and his brother Minamoto no Muneaki 源宗明. Second, the printer wasJōa 成阿, a man associated with Ima Kumano Shrine 今熊野社 (新熊野神社) andrecognized by Yoshimoto as a renga master. By drawing attention to the dates uponwhich the kotobagaki were inscribed, as well as the handwritten colophons for theDainenbutsuji copy, here I wish to reassess the purposes driving this grand project
to print a set of handscrolls. As I will demonstrate, the individuals who inscribed
the kotobagaki likely did so as part of memorial offerings for Ashikaga Yoshiakira
足利義詮 (see chart 1 for a chronological list of their names).

162 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
date of inscription calligrapher (and insti- portions inscribedtutional affiliation)
Kōō 康応 1 (1389)/12/7

Dharma Prince Gyōnin 堯仁(Myōhōin 妙法院)

scroll 1, sections 2 and 3

12/7

Dharma Prince Kakuzō 覚増(Shōgoin 聖護院)

scroll 1, sections 4 and 8

12/7

Nijō Morotsugu

scroll 1, section 5

12/8

Dharma Prince Sondō(Shōren’in 青蓮院)

scroll 1, section 1

Kōō 2 (1390)/1/26

So’on 祖音 (Kenninji 建仁寺)

scroll 1, section 6

first part of the third
month“the sōjō 僧正 known as the
bhikku of Tendai Peak
[Enryakuji]”scroll 1, section 7

Meitoku 1 (1390)/i3/29

Ryōgen (Ichijōin 一乗院 at
Kōfukuji)scroll 2, section 2

7/8

Jōa (Ima Kumano)colophon for the carving of
the woodblocks

8/25

Minamoto no Muneaki

scroll 2, section 1 (section
on Amitābha’s all-pervading radiance [kōmyō henjō
光明遍照])

last part of the twelfthmonth

Ryōyu (Onjōji)scroll 2, section 8

Meitoku 2 (1391)/4/8“the Kiyomizudera 清水寺
shugyō 執行 and Dharma Seal,
the supernumerary daisōzu
大僧都”

copy of the colophon fromthe Shōwa version

4/27“the supernumerary vinaya
master (risshi 律師) Shu’un
珠運”

colophon for the carving of
the final woodblocks

chart 1. Kotobagaki for the Meitoku print version.

At the end of the last scroll in the Dainenbutsuji copy, there is a handwritten
colophon, which reads, “Regarding my intent in having this printed, I have contributed two copies for the posthumous awakening (bodai 菩提) of my parents. –Meitoku 2 [1391]/7/29, Mino no kami Sukekage 美濃守助景 [stylized signature].”Combined with information included in chart 1, this colophon shows that the
inscription of the kotobagaki took place over a period of about two-and-a-halfyears, from the twelfth month of Kōō 1 (1389) to the fourth month of Meitoku
1 (1391); furthermore, the printing was completed by the seventh month of 1391.

takagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 163

The names of the participants, who included dharma princes and eminent kenmitsu monks, as well as the regent and other nobles, are listed in the colophons.
It may well be that, like Mino no kami Sukekage, who underwrote two printed
copies to pray for his parents’ posthumous enlightenment, other participants
inscribed the kotobagaki as a memorial offering (追善供養 tsuizen kuyō) for particular individuals. As noted earlier, Uchida has surmised that the scrolls weremeant to generate posthumous merit for Nijō Yoshimoto, an eminent aristocrat
and noted poet, who had died the year before the printing project began, that is,in 1388 (Kakyō 嘉慶 2).
If, however, we attend to the dates on which the kotobagaki were inscribed,
we see that a number of them converge. This suggests a different interpretation, in which the reproduction of the engi centers on Ashikaga Yoshiakira.
On the seventh day of the twelfth month in 1389 (Kōō 1) the highest-ranking
participants, namely, two dharma princes and the regent Nijō Morotsugu 二条
師嗣 (1356–1400), wrote out their portions of the kotobagaki; the following day,the Dharma Prince Sondō 尊道 (1332–1403) inscribed his portion. Thus, the text
for the first part of the first scroll, from the beginning to the fifth section, wasinscribed all at once, on a date that had likely been selected to begin work on
the Meitoku print project. Among sources dating to the same period, we findthe following entries in Kanenobu kōki 兼宣公記, the diary of the senior noble
Hirohashi Kanenobu 広橋兼宣 (1366–1429):
12/2: Clear skies. The annual Eight Lectures [on the Lotus Sutra] are to be heldat Tōjiji 等持寺 for five days starting today. Thus, at [the hour of] the snake, mylord [Hirohashi Nakamitsu 広橋仲光] set out. (He wore formal court dress.)
Opting for informality, he ordered his “eight petalled” carriage. I went to theresidence of the lady [Sūkenmon’in 崇賢門院].
12/6: Clear. My lord set out early, as he has done recently. Today in the Eight
Lectures the vows are realized [kechigan 結願]. For five days, he has not goneout on business; [these rites] are most important.

These entries confirm that a set of eight Lotus lectures was held for five days,
from the second through the sixth of the twelfth month. Held at Tōjiji, the family mortuary temple (bodaiji 菩提寺) of the Ashikaga shoguns, this rite was theoffering (kuyō 供養) held on the occasion of the twenty-third anniversary of thedeath of the second shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiakira, who had died on Jōji 貞治 6(1367)/12/7.
Given that the primary objective of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki was to generate merit for the deceased, and that the dates recorded by contributors centeron particular points in the calendar, it is reasonable to assume that these dates
marked the death anniversaries of the people for whom memorials were being
performed. Simply put, men with ties to Yoshiakira joined forces to mark the164 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
anniversary of his death by inscribing the kotobagaki of the Meitoku print versionof the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki. The possibility thus arises that Yoshiakira’s son,the third shogun, Yoshimitsu 義満 (1358–1408), was at the center of the creationof the printed handscroll, for two of his favorites, the Dharma Prince Gyōnin
堯仁 (1363–1430) and the Dharma Prince Sondō, participated in the project.
Who was “Mino no kami Sukekage?”
The next point to which I want to draw attention is the participation of an individual called “Mino no kami Sukegake” in the Meitoku printing project. 1 Previously he has gone unidentified, but if we scour the historical record for thisperiod, we find that there was a man named Urakami Sukegage 浦上助景 who
was a retainer of the Akamatsu 赤松 family. Documents from Gakuanji 額安寺, atemple located in the contemporary city of Yamatokōriyama in Nara Prefecture,provide a comparatively early set of sources on Sukekage (Yanagisawa Bunko
Senmon Iinkai 1964): his name appears in documents dating to the period
between 1374 (Ōan 応安 7) and 1380 (Kōryaku 康暦 2). The relevant documents
are related to one of Gakuanji’s estates, Kanaoka no Higashi no Shō 金岡東荘,
which was located in Bizen Province in what is now Okayama City. Because thesesources refer to “Urakami, the sword-bearing saemon no jō lord” and “Sukekage,saemon no jō,” Urakami Sukekage appears to have been the deputy shugo in Bizen(Kōsaka 1970, 148–67). The stylized signature (kaō 花押) used in the Gakuanji
documents is of the same basic form as that used in the colophon to the Dainenbutsuji copy of the Meitoku print version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki; thus
it is quite possible that “Sukekage” is the same person in both cases. Furthermore, a document titled “Order (gechijō 下知状) from the warrior government
to the temple” in the archives of Kajūji 勧修寺, a temple in Kyoto, bears the date
“Meitoku 2 [1391]/6/2, Mino no kami” followed by a stylized signature. This dateprecedes the Meitoku print version of the engi by one month; furthermore, thecalligraphy and the signature exactly match the colophon on the engi. It appears
that by this time Urakami Sukekage had been promoted from saemon no jō toMino no kami; most likely, he went up to Kyoto and took on the duties of the
shoshidai 所司代, that is, the deputy to the head of the samurai dokoro 侍所, when
the latter office was assumed by his master, Akamatsu Yoshinori 赤松義則.
In fact, the list drawn up by Imatani Akira (1986) of appointments and dismissals to the offices of the head of the samurai dokoro and his deputy confirmsthat Urakami Sukekage served first as deputy shugo of Bizen from 1374 to circa
1. Translator’s note: Although the positions of kami and saemon no jō had once pointed toadministrative offices (provincial governor and second assistant in the left bodyguards, respectively), by the Muromachi period they had largely attenuated into honorific emoluments. For
this reason I have left them untranslated.

takagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 165

1388, and 1389 to 1391 (Ōan 7 to Kakyō 2 and Kōō 1 to Meitoku 2), and then as
deputy to the head of the samurai dokoro from 1399 to 1402 (Ōei 6 to 9). Furthermore, from 1390 until the following year (Meitoku 1 to 2) he became deputy
shugo of Yamashiro. In the latter two cases, the primary appointee—first shugo
and then head of the samurai dokoro—was Akamatsu Yoshinori, who later
inscribed part of the kotobagaki for the Seiryōji version of the Yūzū nenbutsu
engi emaki (Imatani 1977; 1986; see also Haga 1962).
A considerable number of copies of the engi must have been printed during the
Meitoku era. Although it is only Urakami Sukekage’s Dainenbutsuji copy that has
been preserved down to the present day, it is quite likely that men of similar status—shugo and their powerful retainers—printed other copies. Certainly, not only
Akamatsu Yoshinori but also men from the Hosokawa 細川, Shiba 斯波, Yamana
山名, and Rokkaku 六角 houses, who contributed calligraphy to the kotobagaki of
the Seiryōji version, contributed to the production of the Meitoku print version as
well. Thus, it was not only aristocrats but also the upper echelons of warrior societythat contributed to the reproduction of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki.
Gazing Upon the Entire Realm:
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and the Meitoku Print Version
With respect to context, we have thus far clarified the aim of the Meitoku print version (it was meant to generate merit on the occasion of the twenty-third anniversary of the death of Ashikaga Yoshiakira), as well as the participation of Urakami
Sukekage, who held the important bakufu position of deputy to the head of thesamurai dokoro. These two points strongly suggest that the Meitoku print project
was undertaken by members of the circle of Yoshimitsu, Yoshiakira’s son. Suchan unprecedented, large-scale project to print an illustrated handscroll could nothave succeeded without powerful political and financial backing. By way of comparison, we may consider the printed, illustrated version of the Mulian jiu mu jing
(Jp. Mokuren kyūbokyō 目連救母経; Sutra on Mulian’s search for his mother) now
owned by Konkōji 金光寺. This was printed in 1346 (Jōwa 貞和 2) by membersof Ashikaga Takauji’s 足利尊氏 circle, with the aim of generating merit for thedeceased parents of the project’s participants: the colophon notes that the bakufu
and powerful military families such as the Shimada 嶋田, Ishidō 石塔, Akamatsu,
Hosokawa, and Sasaki contributed to the sutra-printing initiative (Miya 1968).
The large Meitoku print project surely drew upon this kind of precedent.
My reconstruction of the background for the creation of the Meitoku printversion runs as follows. First, Ryōchin, who had been active in the vicinity of
Taimadera as a hijiri advocating the yūzū nenbutsu, gained the backing of powerful regional families such as the Ochi, and then sought to disseminate the
Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki across Japan. The Chion’in 知恩院 and Nezu Museum

166 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
根津美術館 scrolls, both of which belong to the Ryōchin holograph kanjin group,

bear colophons stating that Ryōchin’s intent was to ensure that there would be
more than one copy of the engi scrolls in each of the sixty-six provinces. The
main point seems to have been to reproduce multiple copies comparatively
cheaply: according to the copy preserved in the Nezu Museum, support fromthe Ochi family alone ensured the completion of twenty copies. Nonetheless,there has not been a high incidence of preservation of complete copies.
Thereafter, Ryōchin seems to have moved from Yamato, where he had previously exerted himself, to the Saga 嵯峨 area near Kyoto. It is unclear what pointof contact he may have had with Yoshimitsu in conjunction with the Meitoku
printing project, but it is clear that from the Meitoku disturbance of 1391 until
the reunification of the Northern and Southern Courts in 1392, his proselytizing
and promotion of the engi across the realm coincided with Yoshimitsu’s plans toconsolidate and extend his own rule. In this respect, it is important to note that
Yoshimitsu was almost certainly aware of a compelling precedent in the form of
two projects undertaken by his grandfather, Takauji. As already mentioned, inthe 1340s, Takauji had been involved in the printing of the Mokuren kyūbo kyō;
he had also created a totalizing temple network, in which one official “Temple
for the Peace of the Realm” (Ankokuji 安国寺) and one stupa for the consolationof the spirits of the dead (rishōtō 利生塔) had been constructed in each province.
Similarly, in Yoshimitsu’s day, the dissemination of the printed Yūzū nenbutsu
engi emaki throughout the realm symbolized the centrifugal quality of shogunal
power. In terms of the actual spread of the engi, the involvement of Urakami andothers of the shugo retainer class was likely an important factor, for these men
were active in the capital but maintained bases in the provinces.
The Meitoku print version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki was not at allan effort in the mass production of low-grade goods; rather, as a printed work
it boasted a high degree of both perfection and power. Rare in both quality
and quantity, the engi scrolls were printed in large numbers and disseminatedthroughout the country. It was in this respect that the relationship between
Yoshimitsu and the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki was replicated among the subsequent Ashikaga shoguns.
Creativity in the Seiryōji Version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki
The version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki owned by Seiryōji is a memberof the Meitoku print group because its composition is based on the Meitoku
print version; however, both its pictures and the kotobagaki are rendered entirely
by hand. In this case, the Meitoku version, which had transformed the handpainted and handwritten versions of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki produced
during the Northern and Southern Courts period into woodblock prints, nowtakagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 167

took on renewed life as a splendid hand-painted and handwritten work. There
was a precedent for this kind of developmental arc: based upon the printed
Mokuren kyūbokyō created under Ashikaga Takauji, Yoshimitsu had commissioned Rokkaku Jakusai 六角寂済 (1348–1422) to paint a handscroll known as
Mokuren sonja e 目連尊者絵 (Takagishi 2002). Moreover, Ryōchin himself provided another type of continuity, for it was he who conducted the kanjin forboth the Meitoku print and Seiryōji versions of the engi scrolls.
For the Seiryōji version, questions of style are bound up with the project’s personnel. Patterns in gold and silver ink are scattered upon the paper used for the
kotobagaki; as for the pictures, paper affixed to the back of the scroll proves thatsix men, Rokkaku Jakusai, Awataguchi Ryūkō 粟田口隆光, Fujiwara no Mitsukuni
藤原光国, Tosa Yukihiro 土佐行広, Eishun 永春, and Fujiwara no Yukihide 藤原
行秀, were each responsible for several scenes. They were all Yamato-e painting
masters at the time and included the incoming and outgoing heads of the painting bureau (e dokoro 絵所). Instead of the style varying significantly from painterto painter, there is a sense of unity to the Seiryōji scrolls. This indicates that the
Kamakura and Muromachi handscroll style continued to thrive among Yamato-e
painters of the highest level, where it functioned as a classic mode to which one
was expected to adhere. In turn, this testifies to the fertility of Ōei-era painting
circles, for a range of the most skillful painters readily aligned themselves with one
another.
Nevertheless, a careful comparison of the style of each of the painters does
reveal differences in their respective aims. The defining characteristic of Jakusai
and Fujiwara no Mitsukuni, a father and son associated with the Rokkaku atelier, was their pronounced use of surface ornamentation in golden ink. Fujiwara
no Yukihide made frequent use of vivid, unmixed colors; moreover, his precise
depiction of architectural elements and his habit of representing human figures
through the free use of line and color-wash (horinuri 掘塗) recalled the workof the Kamakura-period master Takashina no Takakane 高階隆兼 (n.d.).2 For
his part, Tosa Yukihiro expanded the picture plane and painted people in richcolors, such that they seemed to come alive. Meanwhile, the small, individuatedfigures painted by Awataguchi Ryūkō generate a unique energy in his crowd
scenes, while the collapse of forms in Eishun’s depiction of architecture presages
the new style that appeared after the Ōnin and Bunmei Wars (Takagishi 2013).3
2. For example, the garden in the residence of Retired Emperor Toba (second scroll, second
scene in the Seiryōji version) is thought to be modeled on the garden of Fujiwara no Toshimori
藤原俊盛 as depicted in the second scene of the fifth scroll of Kasuga gongen genki emaki 春日
権現験記絵巻.
3. The post-Ōnin style is exemplified by the first and seventh scrolls of the Boki-e 慕帰絵,
which date to 1482 and are owned by Nishi Honganji (note that by contrast scrolls two throughsix and eight through ten date to 1351).

168 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)

date of inscription calligrapher (andrelevant affiliation)

portions inscribedŌei 21 (1414)/3/15

Yamana Tokihiro 山名時煕

scroll 2, section 4

4/8

Dharma Prince Gyōnin

scroll 1, section 3, intro
duction; sections 1 and 2
are in the same hand

4/8

Shimizudani Saneaki 清水谷

scroll 1, section 7

実秋

4/8

Shiba Yoshinori 斯波義教

scroll 2, section 9

4/11

Gien 義円 (Shōren'in)scroll 1, section 4

4/15

Kōgyō 光暁 (Tōin at Kōfukuji)scroll 1, section 8

4/15

Jua

scroll 2, copy of thecolophon by Ryōchin

4/20

Kōkyō 光経 (Sonshōin at
Tōdaiji)scroll 1, section 9

5/3

Chūkei 忠慶 (Sonshōin)scroll 1, 2ection 9

5/6

Nijō Mochimoto 二条持基

scroll 1, section 5

5/6

Kankyō 桓教 (Jitsujōin 実乗院)

scroll 2, section 2

5/6

Akamatsu Yoshinori 赤松義則

scroll 2, section 5

5/6

Kōa 興阿scroll 2, section 10

5/6

Ryōshin 了心

scroll 2, section 10

first part of the fifthmonth

Dōi 道意 (Shōgoin)scroll 2, section 8

6/7

Rokkaku Mitsutaka 六角満高

scroll 2, section 7

middle of the seventhmonthSonkyō 尊経 (Jōjūin 常住院)

scroll 1, section 6

12/17

Zenjūbō Jōsei 禅住坊承盛

scroll 2, account of the
publication of the Meitoku
print version

Ōei 22 (1415)/8/15

Shōi 聖意 (Shichi Kannon'in
七観音院)

scroll 1, section 6 (passage
on the manifestation ofTenjin 天神)Ōei 24 (1417)/10/26

Sūkenmon'in 崇賢門院

scroll 2, closing colophon

Ōei 30 (1423)/6/22

unknown

scroll 2, section 6

chart 2. Kotobagaki for the Seiryōji version.

takagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 169

Although differences of these kinds can indeed be detected at the level ofindividual style, at root, there is a strong sense that the painting masters who
worked on the Seiryōji version pursued their own creativity within the scopeof the reigning style of their day. Through controlled competition among thepainters, the scrolls achieved the highest degree of perfection. What was at stake,then, was not an automatic process of copying, but rather a disciplined andsocial form of creativity. No other picture scroll provides so strong a sense of thisdynamic as the Seiryōji version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki.
The Seiryōji Version and Memorial Services
at the Seventh Death Anniversary of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
Mode of production constitutes the most obvious point of divergence between
the Meitoku and Seiryōji versions of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki, but other
differences can be adduced as well. The latter bears inscriptions of the names(myōgō 名号) of Amida and his attendants Kannon 観音 and Seishi 勢至, an
oracle (takusen 託宣) from Hachiman Daibosatsu 八幡大菩薩, and waka verses
at the beginning of the first scroll. The calligraphy for this portion of the text
was rendered by Retired Emperor Go-Komatsu 後小松 (1377–1433; r. 1382–1412), while the calligraphy for the first part of the second scroll was written by
Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Yoshimitsu’s son and successor. With respect to the kotobagaki, the number of calligraphers is altogether higher than for the Meitoku
version; it is also unique in including not only the retired emperor and shogun
but also powerful daimyo.
Moreover, the following postscript by Sūkenmon’in 崇賢門院 (1339–1427), themother of Emperor Go-Enyū (1358–1393; r. 1371–1382), was added to the end of
the second scroll.
Due to the encouragement of Ryōchin Shōnin, for the sake of the Latter
Enyū-in, I take up my brush to form a karmic tie.
		Ōei 24 [1417]/10/26 [Sūkenmon’in]4

Sūkenmon’in’s postscript clearly indicates that the emaki was produced in
1417 to generate merit for the deceased Retired Emperor Go-Enyū; moreover,the date (10/26) falls precisely half a year after the twenty-fifth anniversary of
his death. There are, however, some issues surrounding this postscript. First,
the postscript postdates Ōei 21 (1414), the year in which the kotobagaki were
inscribed, by three years. Furthermore, the paper on which the postscript was
written was decorated using only golden ink, whereas decorations in other portions of the scroll combine gold with silver. When we take these points into
4. There is a notation in another hand between the date and Sūkenmon’in’s signature.

170 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
consideration, we cannot deny the possibility that additions were made to theemaki after it was first completed.
Thus, let us set aside for the moment the theory that the scroll was conceived
as a means to generate posthumous merit for Retired Emperor Go-En’yū andanalyze the dates for the inscription of the kotobagaki, as we did in the previous
section. As chart 2 shows, the kotobagaki inscriptions for the Seiryōji version
also cluster around specific dates. The process of calligraphing the kotobagaki
began in the third month of Ōei 21 (1414), and was very nearly complete by theseventh month of that year. It is very likely that, as with the Meitoku version, theearliest dates point to the aims of the project; therefore, in what follows, I consider these dates one by one.
The earliest date upon which a portion of the kotobagaki for the Seiryōji version was inscribed, Ōei 21 (1414)/3/15, coincided with the kechigan day of the
Seiryōji yūzū dainenbutsu 融通大念仏 , an event about which the kotobagaki
for the tenth scene of the second scroll has this to say: “Every year from thesixth until the fifteenth day of the third month, men and women, both lay andordained, from near and far crowd together, appearing like mist and assembling
like stars.” In explaining the dates for the dainenbutsu, the Seiryōji engi 清凉寺
縁起 (also known as the Shakadō engi 釈迦堂縁起), which dates to Eishō 永正
12 (1515), hints at a connection between the death of Chōnen 奝然 (d. 1016), themonk who brought Seiryōji’s main icon, a famous image of Śākyamuni, to Japan
from China (Henderson and Hurvitz 1956), and the origins of the temple’sdainenbutsu rite. According to that engi, “Chōnen passed into perfect quiescence [that is, death] on Chōwa 長和 5 [1016]/3/16, a hinoetatsu 丙辰 year. Should
we wonder that from the day before there should be ten days of rites to generate posthumous merit on his behalf?” Whether or not the yūzū dainenbutsu
was indeed connected to memorials for Chōnen, we may surmise that Yamana
Tokihiro 山名時煕 meant his inscription of his portion of the kotobagaki for the
Seiryōji version of the Yūzū dainenbutsu engi emaki on 3/15 to coincide with thekechigan for the rite.
The next date upon which contributors inscribed their portions of the kotobagaki was Ōei 21 (1414)/4/8. Dharma Prince Gyōnin, Ichijō Saneaki 一条実秋
(1384–1420), and Shiba Yoshinori 斯波義教 (1371–1418) all took up their brushes
on this date, which corresponded to the day of the Assembly for the Buddha’s
Birth (Busshō-e 仏生会 or Kanbutsu-e 潅仏会). One of the most important rites
at Seiryōji, this annual event drew the attention of the capital’s elite. For example,
exactly one year earlier, the Daigoji 醍醐寺 monk Mansai 満済 (1378–1435), wholater became the monzeki 門跡 abbot of the Sanbōin 三宝院, wrote in his diaryon the eighth day of the fourth month: “I made my pilgrimage to the Shaka Hallin Saga. This is an annual rite” (Mansai jugō nikki, Ōei 20 [1413]/4/8). In sum,
we may infer that the process of inscribing the second round of the kotobagaki

takagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 171

was meant to coincide with the Assembly for the Buddha’s Birth; this constitutes
another important link with Seiryōji’s ritual calendar.
The third set of inscriptions was made soon thereafter. The monks Jua 寿阿(n.d.) and Kōgyō 光暁 (1363–1433) wrote out their portions of the kotobagaki on
4/15, and Kōkyō 光経 (n.d.) did the same on 4/20. As contemporary sources suchas the Sakkaiki 薩戒記 and On hakkōki Ōei nijūichi 御八講記応永廿一 demonstrate, between 4/14 and 4/19, Ashikaga Yoshimochi held an Eight Lotus Lectures Assembly at Tōjiji for the seventh anniversary of the death of his father,
Yoshimitsu (Ōta 2002). Tellingly, Kōgyō, who was abbot of the Tōin 東院 at
Kōfukuji, served as morning lecturer on the first day of this rite, and Kōkyō,who was abbot of the Sonshōin 尊勝院 at Tōdaiji, did the same on the secondday. In other words, the two Nara monks came up to the capital for the Eight
Lotus Lectures held in honor of Yoshimitsu; then, while they were in the capital,
they wrote out portions of the kotobagaki for the Seiryōji version of the Yūzū
nenbutsu engi emaki. It is also worth nothing that Kōgyō’s judgement (shōgi証義) in the Eight Lectures was deemed “particularly elegant”; upon Yoshimochi’s recommendation, the throne appointed him bettō of Kōfukuji on 4/23 after
the Eight Lectures had ended (Jimon no koto jōjō kikigaki 寺門事条々聞書; see
Dai Nihon shiryō 7.20: 110). Moreover, Kōkyō was appointed bettō of Tōdaiji on
6/12 (Tōdaiji bettō shidai); this too was likely a reward for his service during theEight Lectures. In sum, the Buddhist rites sponsored by Yoshimochi to generate
merit on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of his father Yoshimitsu’s death
were linked to the inscription of the kotobagaki for the scrolls.
The inscription of the kotobagaki for the Seiryōji version reached its peakon Ōei 21 (1414)5/6, with five contributors, namely Nijō Mochimoto 二条持基
(1390–1445), Kankyō 桓教 (n.d.), Akamatsu Yoshinori 赤松義則 (1358–1427), Kōa
興阿 (n.d), and Ryōshin 了心 (n.d.) writing on that date. And, if we include Dōi
道意 (d. 1429), who wrote during the “first third of the midsummer month” (thatis, sometime during the first ten days of the fifth month), the number of participants active at this time grows to six. The date 5/6 corresponds directly tothe anniversary of Yoshimitsu’s death, which had occurred on Ōei 15 (1408)/5/6.
Memorial rites were indeed being held for Yoshimitsu at this time: until thetwelfth day of the month Retired Emperor Go-Komatsu held a Lotus Repentance
Rite (Hokke senpō 法華懺法) at his imperial residence in which he prayed for
Yoshimitsu’s posthumous wellbeing (Zokushigushō; Sentō gosenpōkō ki).
Thus, when we attend to the dates upon which the kotobagaki for the Seiryōji
version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki were inscribed, we find that the production of the scrolls was linked to rites at Seiryōji, as well as being closely
connected to rites conducted to generate posthumous merit for the seventh
anniversary of the death of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Moreover, the following

172 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
passage from Kitanosha monjo 北野社文書 gives a good sense of how the rites
for Yoshimitsu actually worked. (Intralinear notes are enclosed in parentheses.)
The monks of Seiryōji (known as the Shakadō 釈迦堂) humbly address themselves [to the bakufu]:
As Buddhist rites for the Rokuon’in 鹿苑院 Lord [=Yoshimitsu] we haveconducted offerings of eternal flames before the image of Śākyamuni, beginning on the first day of the sixth month of Ōei 15 [1408]. We have done so inaccord with the vow made by Kitayama-in, who provided one kanmon 貫文
every month to conduct these [rites]. After the death of the lady, her vow fell
into neglect because no determination had been made. We informed the bugyō
奉行, the Jibu Echizen no kami 治部越前守, of this several times, whereupon
he told us that there must be no regression in our diligence with regard to
the eternal flames. All told, the allotments for the seven years extending fromŌei 27 [1420] until this year amount to eighty-seven kanmon (this number has
been emended by adding in the intercalary months). By using other supplies
meant for the Buddha, we settled this. However, the temple is [now] powerless, and it seems that we will fall short. We have heard that while the lady wasalive [the bakufu] used nengu 年貢 from Jūshichikasho 十七ヶ所 [a shōen in
Kawachi] to pay [for the lamp oil]. We have been quick to receive strict orders,
but the grants have not been disbursed to us for a number of years. Whether
speaking of the Buddhist rites or the power of her vow, we draw upon our earnest sincerity in either case. Thus we address ourselves to you.		
Eighth month of Ōei 33 [1426] (Dai Nihon shiryō, 7.10: 235)		This document, which is obviously related to an appeal for funds, shows thatmemorial rites for Yoshimitsu had continued at Seiryōji for more than fifteen
years in the form of offerings of lamps. The eternal flames offered before thetemple’s main icon had first been lit as a means to generate posthumous meriton Ōei 15 (1408)/ 6/1, one month after Yoshimitsu’s death. His wife, Kitayamain 北山院 (Hino Yasuko日野康子) had provided one kanmon to Seiryōji every
month as funding; however, funds were some years in arrears as a result of Kitayama-in’s death in Ōei 27 (1420). The fact that Seiryōji had long been the site formemorial rites for Yoshimitsu made it inevitable that the engi scrolls, which had
also been produced on his behalf, should be given to Seiryōji.
Ashikaga Yoshimochi and the Personnel for the Seiryōji Version
Who was behind the production of the Seiryōji version of the Yūzū nenbutsu
engi emaki? When we consider that the earlier Meitoku print version was organized by Yoshimitsu to generate posthumous merit for his father, Yoshiakira,Yoshimitsu’s son Yoshimochi emerges as the obvious candidate. An examination of the roster of kotobagaki contributors reveals that three of them—Gakuin

takagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 173

Ekatsu 鄂隠恵奯 (1366–1425), Ichijō Saneaki, and Zenjūbō Jōsei 禅住坊承盛(n.d.)—did in fact have extremely close relationships with Yoshimochi. Admittedly, this is not a great number, but it is still significant.
Yoshimochi, who was inclined toward Zen, is known to have placed a great
deal of trust in Gakuin Ekatsu (Tamamura 1951; Murao 1989), and we catcha glimpse of this in his support of Ekatsu. In the sixth month of Ōei 21 (1414),
immediately after he had written out his portion of the kotobagaki for the
Seiryōji version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki, Ekatsu was appointed to theposition of “stupa master” (tassu 塔主) of Yoshimitsu’s gravesite, the Rokuon’inat Shōkokuji 相国寺. It is also worth noting that Ekatsu wrote one of the verses
upon the ink painting “Catching a Catfish with a Gourd” (Hyōnenzu 瓢鮎図),
which Yoshimochi commissioned from the painter Josetsu 如拙 (n.d.). (Thispainting is held by Taizōin 退蔵院 and is now designated a national treasure).
The second kotobagaki contributor with close ties to Yoshimochi was Ichijō
Saneaki, also known as Shimizudani Saneaki 清水谷実秋 . A noted Sesonjischool calligrapher, Saneaki was prominent within Yoshimochi’s circle. Several
pieces of his calligraphy were executed at Yoshimochi’s behest, and two were
explicitly created to generate posthumous merit for Yoshimitsu: in 1408, Saneaki
wrote out a ganmon 願文 for funeral services held on the hundredth day after
Yoshimitsu’s death, and in 1409 he wrote out a second ganmon plus a fujumon
諷誦文 for the first anniversary of Yoshimitsu’s death.5 Saneaki also wrote out aganmon and fujumon for Yoshimochi’s visit to Hie Shrine 日吉社 in 1415 (Ōei 22)(Yoshimochikō Hiesha sanki 義持公日吉社参記; see Dai Nihon shiryō 7.22: 233).
Furthermore, he inscribed the text of the 1415 Sanuki no kuni Shippōsan Hachiman kotobiki no miya engi 讃岐国七宝山八幡琴引宮縁起, an unillustrated text in
scroll format, at Yoshimochi’s behest.
Finally, Zenjūbō Jōsei was a powerful moneylender associated with Enryakuji
延暦寺 (Kuwayama 1964; Shimosaka 1978). Around 1413 (Ōei 20), that is, one
year before the creation of the Seiryōji version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki,
Zenjūbō was selected together with Shōjitsubō 正実坊 as an official storehouse
keeper (kubō okura 公方御倉) charged with management of the Muromachi
bakufu’s property. Thus, he hailed from a social stratum entirely different fromthat of the Seiryōji version’s other kotobagaki contributers. In this respect, it
is quite likely that he was specially nominated by Yoshimochi because he had
shouldered some of the financial burden for producing the scrolls. Based on
the activities of these three men—Gakuin Ekatsu, Ichijō Saneaki, and Zenjūbō
Jōsei—we may surmise that it was indeed Yoshimochi who commissioned the
Seiryōji version of the engi.
5. These texts are now included in the Kōyōki 迎陽記 , a literary anthology compiled by
Higashibōjō Hidenaga 東坊城秀長 (1338–1441).

174 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
The Bun’an Version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki and
Posthumous Merit for Ashikaga Yoshinori
The Bun’an version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki provides an example of
how the reproduction of the engi continued in the wake of the Seiryōji version.
Although the Bun’an version itself is not extant, a copy of the last three sectionsof the first scroll survives; this was copied by Prince Sadafusa 貞成 (1372–1456) of
the Fushimi no Miya 伏見宮 line and is held by the Imperial Household Agency’s
Archives and Mausolea Department. An examination of this copy indicates thatthe Bun’an version was conceived as a copy of the Seiryōji version. It meticulously replicated such details as the dates of the inscriptions by Ichijō Saneaki,
Kōgyō, and Kōkyō, as well as the notations affixed to the back of the Seiryōji
scrolls to identify the painters.
The circumstances for the Bun’an project are described, albeit somewhat
elliptically, in a colophon reproduced in Sadafusa’s copy. This reads,
Zuishun’in 瑞春院 (the primary wife of Fukōin 普広院) recopied these pictures; the emperor, regent, and other [members of the court] wrote out the
text. In accord with my hopes, I have taken up my inept brush without second
thoughts. Furthermore, I finished copying two sections in order to form a karmic tie (kechien). After that, I copied the words. Bun’an 2 [1445]/4/15.

Thus, in accord with a vow made by Zuishun’in (Sanjō Tadako 三条尹子,n.d.), the widow of the sixth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshinori 足利義教 (1394–1441,
here referred to as Fukōin), a project was undertaken to recopy the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki circa 1445, with Emperor Go-Hanazono 後花園 (1419–1470; r.
1428–1464), Nijō Mochimoto 二条持基 (1395–1445), and others participating in
the inscription of the kotobagaki. Judging from the fact that the vow originatedwith Yoshinori’s widow, we may conclude that the aim of the Bun’an version
was to generate posthumous merit for Yoshinori, who had been assassinatedby Akamatsu Mitsusuke 赤松満祐 in the Kakitsu Disturbance 嘉吉の乱 of 1441
(Tashiro 1976; Matsubara 1991).
Zuishun’in was a dedicated patron of Nison’in 二尊院, a temple that, like
Seiryōji, was located in Saga. It is therefore possible that she provided support
for the scrolls and the temple at the same time. Like Seiryōji, Nison’in was acentral Pure Land temple in Saga, and Ryōchin, who had conducted the kanjin campaign for the Meitoku and Seiryōji versions of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi
emaki, had been active there. Furthermore, like Seiryōji, it had a connection to
shogunal memorial services. In 1447 (Bun’an 4), a “nenbutsu in accord with the
Dharma” (nyohō nenbutsu 如法念仏) was held there to generate posthumous
merit on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of Yoshinori’s death (Morosatoki, Bun’an 4/4/16), with Zuishun’in as the recognized sponsor. Zuishun’in was
devoted to Nison’in in part because she was born into the Sanjō family, whosetakagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 175

members were supporters of the temple. According to the eleventh section of
the Nison’in engi, her support was also rooted in personal ties:
Thereafter, the years wore on and on, and the halls and residences fell into
disrepair, but the reverend Kōdō 弘導 was honored for his learning in the four
schools, perfumed by discipline and practice. Zuishun’in placed her faith inhim, and therefore the deceased chancellor, Fukōin, also came to revere him.

Thus, this text claims that Yoshinori offered his patronage to the temple, as well.
I would also like to draw attention to the Yūzū nenbutsu kanjinchō 融通念仏
勧進帳 (Register of donors for the yūzū nenbutsu), a document written in thehands of Emperor Go-Hanazono and Prince Sadafusa and owned by Zenrinji(Bunkachō Bunkazaibu 2001). It is written on paper decorated with gold andsilver leaf and ink, and at the end of the scroll a monk, who may be Ryōnin,is represented together with four transformation buddhas (kebutsu 化仏), riding on clouds of welcome from the Pure Land. The colophon gives the third
month of Bun’an 4 as its date (Umezu 1958); this makes it likely that the register
was also produced for the seventh anniversary of Yoshinori’s death. At present,
the register is associated with the Zenrinji version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi
emaki; however, that version of the engi was created approximately twenty years
later. Accordingly, it makes better sense to assume that the register was used in
the production of the temporally proximate Bun’an version of the engi. The factthat Zenrinji owns the register can be explained by institutional circumstances.
Around the time of the Bun’an era, Zenrinji had been placed under the administration of Nison’in (Tsujita 1960); this shift forged a close connection thatwould have facilitated the transfer of treasures between the two temples.
From the preceding analysis, we may infer that the Bun’an version of the
Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki was created in accord with a vow made by Zuishun’in,that it was based on the Seiryōji version, that it was completed around the sixth
month of 1447 (Bun’an 4), and that it was then dedicated at Nison’in.6
The Zenrinji Version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki
and the Generation of Posthumous Merit for Ashikaga Yoshinori
It is the Zenrinji version that adorns the end of the career of the Yūzū nenbutsu
engi emaki. In their overall form, these scrolls emulate the Seiryōji version, andtheir social context hews to earlier patterns as well. Emperor Go-Hanazono
inscribed the kotobagaki for the beginning of the first scroll, much as he had for
the Bun’an version, while the eighth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, did the samefor the beginning of the second. Fundraising was conducted by Yūchin 融鎮,
6. Note that, based on the existence of the kanjin register, Yoshida Yūji (1995, 300–301)
inferred that the Zenrinji version was based on both the Seiryōji and the Bun’an versions.

176 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
date of inscription

calligrapher (andrelevant affiliation)

portions inscribed

Kanshō 4 (1463)/i6/29

Ichijō Kaneyoshi 一条兼良

scroll 2, section 2

last part of the seventhmonth“the former daisōjō 大僧正”

scroll 2, sections 3 and 4

8/17

Kyōgaku 教覚(Myōhōin 妙法院)

scroll 1, latter half of section 1, and sections 2 and 3

9/2

Nijō Mochimichi 二条持通

scroll 2, sections 5 and 6

9/12

Kyōjo 教助 (Enman’in 円満院)

scroll 1, sections 4 and 5

9/15

Sanjō Sanekazu 三条実量

scroll 2, sections 7 and 8

Shimizudani Sanehisa

scroll 1, section 7Ōgimachi Kinsumi

scroll 1, section 6

Anegakōji Mototsuna

scroll 1, sections 8 and 9

4/25

Asukai Masachika 飛鳥井雅親

scroll 2, section 9

4/25

Asukai Masafuji 飛鳥井雅藤

scroll 2, passages in section
10 on the Seiryōji yūzūdainenbutsu and the printing record

Kanshō 6 (1465) 2/23

Kanroji Chikanaga 甘露寺親長 scroll 2, copies of the
Shōwa-era colophon, thecolophon by Ryōchin, andthe account of the printing of the Meitoku printversion

12/7
Kanshō 5 (1464)/3/25
4/25

清水谷実久
正親町公澄

姉小路基綱

chart 3. Kotobagaki for the Zenrinji version.

who was a member of Ryōchin’s lineage. The kotobagaki calligraphers were fewer
in number than they had been for earlier versions, and the fact that no daimyolords contributed meant that the social scope of the project contracted considerably. It is thought that one painter each oversaw the paintings for the first andsecond scroll; this, too, represents a decrease from the six men who worked on
the Seiryōji version.
With the Meitoku print and Seiryōji versions, the dates on which the kotobagaki were inscribed corresponded to the dates for memorial services, theobject of which was to generate merit for deceased Ashikaga shoguns. With
the Zenrinji version, however, it is impossible to detect the same kind of correlation (for the dates of the kotobagaki inscriptions, see chart 3). Nonethe-takagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 177

calligrapher (and relevant affiliation)

portions inscribed“Kajiinomiya 梶井宮 Prince Gyōin 堯胤”

scroll 1, section 1“Prince Kakuin 覚胤 of the Myōhōin”

scroll 1, section 2“Shōgoin-no-miya Prince Dōō 道応”

scroll 1, section 3“Prince Tōki 等貴 of the Banshōin 万松院, son of the
Prince Fushimi 伏見殿”

scroll 1, section 4“Prince Eisū 永崇, son of Prince Fushimi”

scroll 1, section 5

first half: “Kōjo 公助 of Jōbōji 定法寺”; second half:“writer unknown”

scroll 1, section 6“The administrator (bōkan 坊官) of the Kajii monzeki
梶井御門跡, Tominokōji Ninchi 冨小路任知”

scroll 1, section 7“Zōun 増運 of Jissōin 実相院”

scroll 1, section 8“Gishun 義俊 of Daikakuji 大覚寺”

scroll 1, section 9“Shōren’in-no-miya, Prince Son’ō 尊応”

scroll 2, section 1“Prince Son’ō of Shōren’in”

scroll 2, section 2“Zōun of Jissōin”

scroll 2, sections 3, 4, and 5“Shimizudani Sanehisa”

scroll 2, section 6“His Lordship Jōtokuin 常徳院 Yoshihisa”

scroll 2, section 7“Asukai Masayasu 飛鳥井雅康”

scroll 2, section 8“Tori[i] kōji Tsunetaka 鳥[居]小路経孝”

scroll 2, first section of thecolophon“unknown”

scroll 2, second section of
the colophon

chart 4. Kotobagaki for the original manuscript on which the Jindaiji version was based.

less, trends in the reproduction of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki up until thispoint make it quite possible that Ashikaga Yoshimasa took the lead in planning
the Zenrinji version with the aim of generating posthumous merit for his father,
Yoshinori. The dates of the earliest kotobagaki for the Meitoku print and Seiryōji
versions are particularly significant because they point to the inception of the
production process. If we assume the same regarding the Zenrinji version, thenwe need to attend to the intercalary sixth month of Kanshō 寛正 4 (1463), when
Ichijō Kaneyoshi 一条兼良 (1402–1481) inscribed his portion of the kotobagaki(see chart 3). The twenty-third anniversary of Yoshinori’s death had occurred
the previous month, on 6/24; the project likely started around this time. We alsoneed to attend to the fact that in the midst of advancing the production of theemaki, Yoshimasa went in person to Zenrinji. The annal kept by the Inryōken蔭凉軒, a hall that Yoshimochi had founded at Shōkokuji, is clear on this point,178 | Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 42/1 (2015)
noting that Yoshimasa “told us that he would finally make a pilgrimage to
Eikandō 永観堂,” that is, to Zenrinji, as well as to “Shinnyodō 真如堂 and Seiwain 清和院” (Inryōken nichiroku, entry for Kanshō 5/2/12). A final connection
between Yoshinori and the Zenrinji version of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki
can be inferred from the identities of the kotobagaki contributors Kyōgaku 教覚(n.d.) and Kyōjo 教助 (n.d.), both of whom were Yoshinori’s foster children. The
character “kyō” 教 in their names derived from the “nori” in his name (義教).
Taken together, these facts support the supposition that the Zenrinji version wasmeant to generate posthumous merit for Yoshinori.
Considering the Zenrinji version of Yoshimasa’s day from the angle of its
workmanship, there is no sense of the kind of overwhelming intensity seen with
the Seiryōji version in the time of Yoshimochi. Nonetheless, there is a shift in
the ornamentation toward freer and grander use of silver and gold decoration.
In this regard, it must also be noted that the Zenrinji version of the engi scrolls
presages the first signs of the new style of Yamato-e that emerged in the wake ofthe Ōnin and Bunmei Wars (1467–1477).
Ashikaga Yoshihisa and the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki
How long did the reproduction of the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki continue
unbroken among the Muromachi shoguns? As a point of reference, let us consider the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki owned by Jindaiji 深大寺, a temple located in
Chōfu city 調布市 in Tokyo. This is an Edo-period copy, but it is notable because
the names of the fourteen kotobagaki contributors for the original are inscribedin golden ink on the obverse of the paper on which the kotobagaki is written (seechart 4) (Mizuno 1987, 22–24).
There is a considerable range for the dates in which the contributors wereactive. For instance, the ninth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshihisa 足利義尚, died in
1489 (Entoku 延徳 1), whereas Gishun 義俊, a Daikakuji 大覚寺 monk, was bornin 1516 (Eishō 永正 13). This temporal spread forces us to acknowledge that thedates for the creation of the original manuscript are unclear. Nonetheless, as we
can glimpse from Yoshihisa’s participation, rather than coming to an end with the
Zenrinji version, an ongoing awareness of precedent continued to maintain theconnection between the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki and the Ashikaga shoguns.
Conclusion
When we take a general view of the reproduction of Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki,
we see that the engi’s reproduction was a great, ongoing project carried out in theenvironment surrounding the politically powerful Ashikaga shoguns. Aimed at
generating posthumous merit for ancestors, it drew the participation of influential men of the day. We may imagine that the Meitoku print version wastakagishi: yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki | 179

produced in numbers ranging from the double into the triple digits. It is quitepossible that, as Ryōchin wrote in his colophon, it was indeed disseminated to
all regions, becoming an impetus for people of both high and low station to add
their names to the register of those who had formed a karmic tie (kechiensha)
through the yūzū nenbutsu. All of these factors speak to the social visibility ofthe engi—or at least to its reproduction.
It is, however, crucial to realize that medieval Japanese jisha engi were strictly
guarded, far more than we appreciate today. Even if we concede that on rareoccasions some members of the elite were shown handscrolls when they madea pilgrimage to a temple or shrine, medieval records and the excellent state ofpreservation of the handscrolls that are extant today indicate that scrolls wereusually not displayed, to say nothing of being exhibited to commoners as anincentive in kanjin campaigns. That being the case, with these handscrolls, theactual processes of production and dedication, together with the ensuing custom of closely guarded storage, were of the greatest significance. Their function,
then, approached that of a hidden buddha (秘仏 hibutsu). As highly ritualized
objects created and treated according to strict rules, engi and other high-quality
handscrolls generated social and religious meanings even when their visual andtextual aspects remained illegible or invisible.
With regard to its quality and quantity, the Yūzū nenbutsu engi emaki embodied larger currents in each era of Muromachi-period culture. After Yoshimochi
established precedent with the Seiryōji version, subsequent generations of shoguns reaffirmed their inheritance of blood and power by emulating his reproduction of the engi. We should also recognize that the yūzū nenbutsu hijiri of
Saga harbored the ambition to enlarge their own networks of followers. Thatsaid, the most important point is that the yūzū nenbutsu doctrine, according
to which many people unite by participating in nenbutsu to pray for the birthof a single person in the Pure Land, fit smoothly with political ideals: under
the name of the Ashikaga shoguns, aristocrats and warriors, lay and ordained,joined together for a common purpose.

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[translated by Heather Blair]