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Kakuban

Type Figure Region Japan Time 1095–1143 Also known as Kōkyō Daishi

Kakuban (1095–1143) was a late Heian-period Japanese monk of the Shingon school and founder of the Shin-shū (New Shingon) school, posthumously titled…

Timeline

  1. 1095–1120Nara · Nara PrefectureBorn at Fujitsu Manor in Hizen Province, he entered the priesthood in childhood and studied at Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji in Nara and at Mount Kōya, studying under various Shingon masters and mastering esoteric Buddhist doctrine and monastic precepts, laying the foundation for his later reforms.
  2. 1130–1143Negoro-san Negoro-ji · Wakayama PrefectureAround 1130 he received permission to build the Denpō-in and at one point held the concurrent positions of abbot of the Dai Denpō-in and Kongō-bu-ji, promoting doctrinal reform. Opposed by the monks of Mount Kōya, he retired to the Miyan-in in 1135 and, after his hall was burned in 1139, moved to Negoro. He died in 1143 and was posthumously titled Kōkyō Daishi in 1690. The Shin-shū was established as an independent school by his disciple Raiyu at the end of the 13th century.

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