The Shunnyū Shōgyō Catalog 淳祐聖教目録 （Provisional Title） Held by Amanosan Kongō-ji Temple

Abstract

This catalog held by Amanosan Kongō-ji 天野山金剛寺 temple （present Kawachinagano City, Osaka Prefecture） has a connection with the monk Shunnyū 淳祐 （890-953） of Ishiyama-dera 石山寺 temple （present Ōtsu City, Shiga Prefecture）. Because the opening section is missing, the actual title is unknown, but as the text states that “among the texts of Ishiyama Naiku Gobō ...,” it is certain that this catalog is concerned with Ishiyama-dera temple. In content it is a catalog of 660 esoteric texts covering a period of about 300 years after Kūkai （774-835） introduced Esoteric Buddhism to Japan. Because it also lists texts written by monks active in the Heian period, it is thought to have been completed in the late Heian period.

Catalogs of temple texts from the same period include the catalog written on the reverse side of the Shishuruijūshō 四種類聚抄 held by the National Institute of Japanese Literature, and the Ono kyōzō mokuroku 小野経蔵目録 at the Ryūmon Bunko 龍門文庫.

In light of the fact that these catalogs were likely produced during the late Heian period, they are significant for an understanding of the kind of studies that were being conducted in Esoteric Buddhism in this period. This catalog occupies an important position in the study of Heian period esoteric texts.