CUANDO SE UTILIZAN UNICAMENTE MATERIAL DEL TERRENO NATURAL COMO PARTE DE LA SUBYACENTE CUANDO POR LOS NIVELES DEL PROYECTO NO SE PUEDAN

Two figures of special note in this regard are the astrological masters Nintō and Ninsō 仁宗 (fl. twelfth century) both engaged in annual events of the imperial court. Descriptions of these two masters appear in the section of the calendrical studies of the twelfth-century historical record Chōya gunsai 朝野群載 (Collection of the Government and the Public). On the

twenty-first day of the second month of the second year of Chōji 長治 (1105), they were

recognized for their contributions to making new calendars and then assigned as superintendents (bettō 別当) of Saidaiji 西大寺.143 Other accounts of both monks appear in the Shōyūki entry for the eighth day of the seventh month of the fourth year of Chōwa 長和 (1015), which notes that “the calendrical scholar [Kamo no] Morimichi 賀茂守道 (986-1030) asked Dharma master Nintō to make a new calendar together, following the precedent of Dharma master Ninsō and his father Kōei 光栄 (fl. eleventh century) having made a calendar together.144 All of this suggests that rather than attempting to engage in the sinister praxis, these two monks were simply

astrological masters involved in making calendars.

Further detailed indications of Nintō’s and Ninsō’s religious activities appear in the Shōyūki. The Shōyūki entry for the sixteenth day of the seventh month of the fourth year of Chōwa 長和 (1015) reports that Dharma master Nintō performed a divination that indicated that Sashōkoku 左相国 (Fujiwara no Michinaga 藤原道長, 966-1027) had ill luck on his head, eyes, and legs.145 The Shōyūki entry for the sixteenth day of the twelfth month of the third year of Kannin 寬仁 (1019) describes Nintō as an astrologer who designated dog days as particularly auspicious days for moving one’s place of residence.146 This, together with further accounts associating Nintō with the year of boar-rooster revolution147, suggests that Nintō was most likely

143 _{Chōya gunsai 15. SZKT 29 jō: 383-384.} 144 _{Shōyūki. DNKS 4:56.}

145 _{Shōyūki. DNKS 4:58.} 146 _{Shōyūki. DNKS 5:220.}

147 _{Other depictions pertaining to the astrological master Nintō are found in the Shōyūki entry for the}

twenty-first day of the second year of the first year of Jian 治安 (1021) and states as follows: Nintō and [Kamo no] Morimichi were summoned concerning an inquiry about the boar rooster revolution (kanototori kakumei 辛酉革命). I [Fujiwara no Sanesuke] ordered them to look at the collection of accounts and descriptions pertaining to the revolution, which were prepared by Miyoshi Kiyoyuki. It noted as follows: “There were three small revolutions in two hundred forty years while there was one large revolution.” It is possible that there are three sixty years small revolutions within two hundred forty years. There was doubt

an astrological and divinatory master retained by Fujiwara no Michinaga.

In contrast to Nintō, the Gonki entry for the sixteenth day of the tenth month of the first year of Chōhō 長保 (999) states that Ninsō sent Fujiwara no Nariyuki 藤原行成 (972-1028) an astrological account that explained his fortune.148 This series of events suggests that perhaps the astrologers were in a position such that they could influence politics at a national level. With regards to the close connection of Ninsō’s (and Nintō’s ) adherents to the Fujiwara clan,

Murayama asserts that the astrological masters appearing in the list above were all affiliated with the Nanto schools and Onjōji 園城寺.149 Considering the prosperity of the medieval temples performing the prayers for the emperor (goganji 御願寺), a place where monks associated with Onjōji in particular were engaged in the court rituals, the astrological content of medieval Tendai Buddhism seems to have greatly affected the timing and performance of state rites.

raised concerning the results of the manner in which the three sixty years small kanototori revolutions occurred in two hundred forty years. Therefore, I called all the relevant members to solve the matter. Although they also did not provide correct answers, they thought that the small kanototori revolutions were sinister, whereas the small kanototori revolutions had never been seen before. It seemed that there were no small kanototori revolutions. This year however might come to be considered as an unlucky year due to the fact that it is a kanototori year (Shōyūki. DNKS 6:13). This passage contains three important themes: (1) Nintō was an astrological master thought to have evolved from his predecessor, Miyoshi Kiyoyuki, (2) the significance of the kanototori revolution as an unlucky year was recognized even one hundred years after Kiyoyuki’s death, and (3) the people misunderstood Kiyoyuki’s intentions pertaining to the kanototori revolution. In the Shōyūki entry for the twenty-ninth day of the second month of the first year of Jian, officials presented an opinion on the theory propounded by Nintō and his associates and said that bearing in mind that the era name was changed from Tentoku 天徳 to Ōwa 応和 in the sixteenth day of the second month of the fifth year of Tentoku 天徳 (961) due to the kanototori year identified as the small kanototori revolution, the first year of Jian 治安 (1021) was the large kanototori revolution year (Shōyūki. DNKS 6:15). The Nihon kiryaku entry for the thirteenth day of the tenth month of the fourth year of Kannin 寛仁 (1020) notes that Emperor Goichijō 後一 条天皇 (1008–1036; r. 1016–1036) invited Nintō and inquired whether or not next year would be the year of boar rooster revolution (Nihon kiryaku kōhen 13. SZKT 11:254). The era name was changed from Kannin 寬 仁 to Jian 治安 due to the year of boar rooster revolution (Nihon kiryaku kōhen 13. SZKT 11:255). Although the change in era name was not carried out at that time due to the difference in opinions among court vassals, the kanototori revolution clearly came to be of great significance to political and religious affairs in medieval Japan.

148 _{Gonki. SHG 1:140.}

3. Ningai

Descriptions of Ningai150 仁海 (fl. eleventh century) appear in medieval sectarian and aristocratic writings. These accounts of Ningai portray him as a Buddhist practitioner who used divination to cure illness. One entry in the Shōyūki for the second day of the intercalary sixth month of the fourth year of Chōwa 長和 (1015) depicts Ningai performing a divination concerning Sashōfu’s 左相府 (Fujiwara no Michinaga 藤原道長, 966-1027) eye trouble to determine whether it was due to a curse. Ningai concluded that there was no curse related to retribution for Michinaga’s past actions and that instead medicine was needed to cure his ailments. Accordingly, Michinaga heard the divination and felt better.151 Another entry in the Shōyūki for the fourteenth day of the seventh month of the third year of Jian 治安 (1023) describes Ningai performing a divination concerning Fujiwara no Sukefusa’s 藤原資房 (1007-1057) illness. The divination contained three conclusions: (1) Sukefusa had been cursed by trees and demons, for which prayers were of no use, (2) the illness did negatively affect Sukefusa, and (3) changing locations would result in good fortune. Sukefusa then asked Ningai if he had high blood pressure and asked to receive medical treatments. Ningai performed another

150 _{Ningai was a monk of Daigoji. The Gonki 権記, the diary of Fujiwara no Nariyuki 藤原行成 (972-1028),}

entry for the twenty-ninth day of the ninth month of the fourth year of Chōhō 長保 (1002) reports that Ningai served as one of sacred words master (bon-onshi 梵音師) in the Buddhist assembly of the recitation for the Lotus Sutra (Gonki. SHG 2: 204). Soon after the ceremony Ningai served as one of thirteen dharani-reciting participants who performed the eight lecture (hakkō 八講) for the late Higashi Sanjō-in 東三條院 (Fujiwara no Senshi 藤原詮子, 962-1002) on the twenty-second day of the tenth month of the fourth year of Chōhō 長 保 (1002) (Honchō seiki 16. SZKT 9:223). Some time later, Ningai, also known as Ono Sōjō 小野僧正, a disciple of Gangō 元果 (914-995), became the sixty-second head monk of Tōdaiji 東大寺 on the twenty-third day of the sixth month of the second year of Chōgen 長元 (1029) (Tōdaiji bettō shidai. ZGR 4:581) and was assigned to the post of head monk of Tōji 東寺 in the fifth year of Chōgen 長元 (1032) (Tōji chōja bunin. ZGR 4:640–643). The Gonki assumes that Ningai was selected for these elevated positions in recognition of his past service.

divination and said that medical treatments would harm Sukefusa and that simply transferring his residence to another place would be better.152 These accounts suggest that Ningai played an important role in treating his patrons,153 and that the effectiveness of Ningai’s divination was widely known among medieval court aristocrats. Although modern scholars have tended to describe Ningai as a rain-making master154, these accounts, together with the appearance of his name in the list of the Nichūreki, suggest that he was just as much a divinatory master and astrologer.

Ningai’s fame as both a rainmaker and a master of astrological and divinatory praxis in turn suggests that rain-making rituals were also closely associated with divinatory arts. This connection is explained in the Sakeiki 左経記, the diary of Minamoto no Tsuneyori 源経頼 (985-1039). The Sakeiki entry for the eighth day of the sixth month of the fifth year of Chōgen 長元 (1032) notes:

The head of the Budget Bureau [Kiyohara] Yoritaka 清原頼隆 (fl. eleventh century) and carpenters who worked at Hōraku-in 豐楽院 said, “Yesterday there was a breeze that was

152 _{Shōyūki. DNKS 6:183.}

153 _{The Sakeiki entry for the fifth day of the fifth month of the third year of Manju 万寿 (1026) notes that}

Ningai performed the prayer for healing while the emperor Goichijō was sick (Sakeiki. ZST 6: 175–176). The Sakeiki entry for the twenty-eighth day of the intercalary fifth month of the third year of Manju 万寿 (1026) notes that when the Empress of Emperor Goichijō (Fujiwara no Ishi 藤原威子, 1000–1036) was expecting her first child, Shōshinai Shinnō 章子内親王 (1027–1105), Ningai performed the prayer for Acala and Kannon (Sakeiki. ZST 6: 178–179). When Fujiwara no Ishi was five months pregnant, Ningai gave her a silk belly band for well-being (Sakeiki. ZST 6: 182). The Sakeiki entry for the eighth day of the ninth month of the first year of Chōgen (長元, 1029) notes that while the Empress (Fujiwara no Ishi 藤原威子, 1000–1036) of Emperor Goichijō was expecting her second child, Keishi naishinnō 馨子内親王 (1029–1093), Ningai performed rituals of the one word golden wheel (ichiji kinrinhō 一字金輪法) at the Upper Daigo 上醍醐 in order to pray for a safe birth (Sakeiki. ZST 6:244–246).

154 _{The commonly accepted theory among scholars is that Ningai was seen as a rain-making master. The}

Nihon kiryaku entry for the fourth day of the sixth month of the second year of Kannin 寛仁 (1018) notes that Ningai performed rain-making rituals at the court for seven days (Nihon kiryaku kōhen 13. SZKT 11:248).

caught in a shower. In a western direction of Shingon-in 真言院, a recumbent dragon

immediately ascended to heaven. Thereafter, the sky was covered with a dismal cloud. A heavy thunderstorm arrived. Recently, the Ningai sōzu ekizei 仁海僧都易筮 (Divination of Director of Monks Ningai) stated, “A recumbent dragon was in the bowels of the earth. It indicates no rain.155

Although Imai Itaru 今井湊 reveals the relationship between astrological studies and

seismology as found in medieval historical sources and notes that the dragon’s agitation indicates an imminent earthquake,156 this passage shows that the dragon was perhaps also related to written supplications for astrolomical change. With the depictions of the dragon’s agitation in mind, we might better understand the rain-making ritual, which had been handed down through seven masters157 of Ningai’s Shingon school, as a form of divination rather than as a means of controlling the natural world. These so-called rain-making masters studied the calendar and divination in order to predict when and how it would rain. The Honchō seiki entry for the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the second year of Tengyō 天慶 (939) notes that in order to detect the direction from which a sacred response would appear, the Bureau of Yin and Yang was ordered to perform divination while reciting the sutra for rain.158 These passages clearly show that a rain-making master like Ningai relied upon astrological knowledge as well as divination in order to learn the approximate time and date of rain.

155 _{Sakeiki. ZST 6:348.}

156 _{Itaru Imai, “Sukuyō jishin uranaikō” Tenmon·Reki·Onmyōdō (Tōkyō: Iwata Shoin, 1995), 303-314.} 157 _{Sakeiki says, “Seven rain masters were: Kūkai 空海 (774-835), Shinga 真雅 (801-879), Shōbō 聖宝}

(832-909), Kankū 寛空 (884-972), Gengō 元杲 (914-995), Genshin 元真 (fl. eleventh century), and Ningai” (Sakeiki. ZST 6:347).