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Shunjobō Chōgen

Type Figure Region Japan Time 1121–1206 Also known as Chōgen、Shunjobō、Seizen

Shunjobō Chōgen (1121–1206) was a Tendai monk, architect, and fundraising master of late Heian to early Kamakura;…

Timeline

  1. 1121–1180Tōdai-ji, Nara · NaraBorn in Bizen, he entered monastic life as a child with the dharma name Seizen, later known as Shunjobō Chōgen. He practiced at Tōdai-ji and Mount Hiei, renowned for asceticism and fundraising, and had already participated in temple construction affairs before 1180.
  2. 1180–1203Tōdai-ji, Nara · NaraThe Great Buddha Hall burned in the warfare of 1180, and Chōgen was appointed to lead its reconstruction. He traveled to Song twice, in 1168 and 1175, studying Southern Song large-scale timber structures and fundraising methods; in the 1190s he advanced the project with court and samurai support, and in 1195 the Great Buddha's eye-opening ceremony was held, introducing large-scale timber construction and Song-style designs.
  3. 1203–1206Nara · NaraAfter the Great Buddha Hall's completion he continued to participate in Tōdai-ji-related construction, passing away in 1206; he was honored as a meritorious figure of the reconstruction, and his Song-style large-scale timber techniques influenced later Buddhist temple architecture.

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