Tenth-Century Religious Beliefs and Practices in the Teishinkōki

Abstract

This paper examines Buddhist services in the Teishinkōki 貞信公記, the diary of Fujiwara no Tadahira （880–949）, covering public （those of the imperial court in which he participated in a professional capacity） and private services.

These services were primarily for peace in this life and consisted mainly of the clergy’s sūtra recitations and esoteric rituals （shuhō 修法）. Pre-Teishinkōki national histories rarely mention esoteric rituals, but subsequent aristocrat diaries frequently do. During Tadahira’s time, they began to take root in both public and private Buddhist services.

As for diary entries on religious beliefs and practices regarding future lives, there is one on gyakushu 逆修, in which Tadahira prayed for his rebirth in the Pure Land, and on a memorial service for his parents. There is also an entry on Tadahira having a Pure Land image copied. However, none suggest Amida 阿弥陀 beliefs and practices for his peace in the next life; these were still maturing.

The activities of Kūya 空也, also of the first half of the tenth century, have many parallels with the Teishinkōki’s misfortune-preventing imperial court services. Such similarities were probably the reason for Kūya’s popularity.