抄録
The purpose of this paper is to throw light on Kukai's achievements in the final years of his life, a subject with almost no prior research. Examining his last years, there is something unique. For over two months starting from the nineteenth day of the twelfth month of 834, Kukai received five imperial charters (_??__??_) including one for the Goshichinchi Mishuho (_??__??__??__??__??__??_). In the background of this was likely some consideration of the continuity of Shingon-shu following his death. Since the reviewing procedures for approving an imperial charter took several months to half a year for each case, the question that must be asked is why could have received five in a short period. He was near the end of his life, and his warm relations with the clerics of the great Nara temples have been noted, but that alone is an inadequate explanation. I believe it was the product of the political skills and personal contacts Kukai developed after his return from Tang China. First, he did not go through normal bureaucratic channels but rather presented a memorial directly to the emperor to receive his imperial charter. Second, one of Kukai's supporters (_??__??_) was Fuj iwara no Mimori (_??__??__??__??_, 785-840), who served as the shokei (_??__??_) at the time the imperial charter was granted. In simple terms, Mimori was intimate with the court and may have interceded for Kukai, allowing his requests to be processed smoothly. In any event, the five matters the imperial charters concern functioned as surprisingly well-integrated preparations for the future of Shingonshu, To-ji, and Koyasan.
