Recently, an Edo-period manuscript of the hyōbyaku 表白 (invocation) used during the performance of the Kōzen’in-kō 興善院講 (Kōzen’in Assembly) at Kōfukuji 興福寺 was rediscovered and returned to the temple. The present paper uses this document to analyze the history and ritual format of this heretofore unexamined temple-internal ritual assembly. Specifically, it traces the source texts quoted in the Kōzen’in-kō hyōbyaku in order to clarify both the content of, and the underlying intent behind, the performance of the Kōzen’in Assembly. This ritual was held monthly on the death day of the scholar-monk Zōshun 蔵俊 (1104–1180), and consisted of an exposition of the Jieshenmi jing 解深密経 (Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra), as well as an oral doctrinal debate. The sutra exposition included in the text is particularly noteworthy for citing heavily from the Haesimmilkyŏng so 解深密経疏 by the Tang-dynasty Korean monk Wŏnch’ŭk 円測. Although still in its initial stages, the study of the Kōzen’in-kō hyōbyaku promises to shed valuable light on temple-internal debate rituals and the interaction between scholar-monks at Kōfukuji during the late medieval and early modern periods.
