Wŏnhyo of Silla is Not the Progenator of the Dancing Nenbutsu 踊念仏

Abstract

In 1924, Hashikawa Tadasu positioned the Korean monk Wŏnhyo （617–686） as the progenitor of the Japanese dancing nenbutsu （odori nembutsu 踊念仏）. Since then, this point of view has been taken up by many scholars in both Korea and Japan, and it has become the prevailing view.

However, this view is grounded only in the Koryŏ monk Iryŏn’s 一然 （1206–1289） Samguk yusa 三国遺事 （Forgotten Legacies of the Three Kingdoms）, compiled six centuries after the death of Wŏnhyo. That document simply states that Wŏnhyo would praise the nembutsu while singing and dancing in order to educate the people.

Was Wŏnhyo actually the progenitor of the dancing nenbutsu? This paper explores the meaning of the singing and dancing used by Wŏnhyo in his teaching.