Eight Great Dragon Kings
List[edit]
Content taken from Dragon King[edit]
As already mentioned, Esoteric Buddhists in Japan who initially learned their trade from Tang dynasty China engaged in rainmaking ritual prayers invoking dragon kings, under system known as shōugyōhō or shōugyō [no] hō, established in the Shingon sect founded by priest Kūkai who learned Buddhism in Tang China. It was first performed by Kūkai in the year 824 at Shinsen'en according to legend, but the first occasion probably took place historically in the year 875, then a second time in 891. The rain ritual came to be performed regularly.[1][2]
The shōugyōhō ritual used two mandalas that featured dragon kings. The Great Mandala which was hung up was of a design that centered around Sakyamuni Buddha, surrounded by the Eight Great Dragon Kings, the ten thousand dragon kings, Bodhisattvas (based on the Dayunlun qingyu jing 大雲輪請雨經, "Scripture of [Summoning] Great Clouds and Petitioning for Rain").[2][3] The other one was a "spread-out mandala”(shiki mandara 敷曼荼羅) laid flat out on its back, and depicted five dragon kings, which were one-, three-, five-, seven-, and nine-headed (based on the Collected Dhāraṇī Sūtras).[2]
Also, there was the "Five Dragons Festival/ritual" (Goryūsai. 五龍祭) was performed by onmyōji or yin-yang masters.[4] The oldest mention of this in literature is from Fusō Ryakuki, entry of Engi 2/902AD, 17th day of the 6th moon.[4] Sometimes the performance of the rain ritual by Esoteric Buddhists (shōugyōhō) would be followed in succession by the Five Dragons Ritual from the Yin-Yang Bureau[5] The Five Dragon rites performed by the onmyōji or yin yang masters had its heyday around the 10–11th centuries.[4] There are mokkan or inscribed wooden tablets used in these rites that have been unearthed (e.g., from 8–10th century site, and a 9th-century site.[6]
In Japan there also developed a legend that the primordial being Banko (Pangu of Chinese myth) sired the Five Dragon Kings, who were invoked in the ritual texts or saimon read in Shinto or Onmyōdō rites, but the five beings later began to be seen less as monsters and more as wise princes,[7]
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ↑ (Trenson 2002, p. 455); (Trenson 2018, p. 276)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ariga (2020), pp. 175–174.
- ↑ Trenson 2018, p. 277, n13, n14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Monta (2012), pp. 18–19.
- ↑ Ruppert (2002), pp. 157–158.
- ↑ Monta (2012), pp. 6–7.
- ↑ Faure (2005), pp. 82–85.
Sources[edit]
- Ariga, Natsuki (March 2020). "Kongō-ji zō 'Ryūō-kōshiki' no shikibun sekai: shakuronchūshaku to kiugirei wo megutte" 金剛寺蔵『龍王講式』の式文世界 : 釈論注釈と祈雨儀礼をめぐって [The study of Ryūō-kōshiki at Kongō-ji Temple : Consideration into the influence of Syakumakaenron and its commentaries and the rituals to pray]. Jinbun / Gakushuin University Research Institute for Humanities-journal. 18: 166–180. hdl:10959/00004813.
- Faure, Bernard R. (June 2005). "Pan Gu and his descendants: Chinese cosmology in medieval Japan" 盤古及其後代：論日本中古時代的中國宇宙論. Taiwan Journal of East Asian Studies. 2 (1): 71–88. doi:10.7916/D8V40THT. pdf @ National Taiwan Normal University
- Fowler, Jeanine D. (2005). An Introduction to the Philosophy and Religion of Taoism: Pathways to Immortality. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 1845190866. Search this book on
[dead link] - Iwata, Masaru (1983). Kagura genryū kō 神楽源流考. Meicho shuppan. Search this book on
- Monta, Seiichi (2012-03-30), "Nihon kodai ni okeru gohōryū kankei shutsudo moji shiryō no shiteki haikei" 日本古代における五方龍関係出土文字史料の史的背景 (PDF), Bukkyō Daigaku Shūkyō Bunka Myūjiamu Kenkyūj Kiyō, 8
- Nikaido, Yoshihiro (2015). Asian Folk Religion and Cultural Interaction. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3847004851. Search this book on
- Overmyer, Daniel L. (2009). Local Religion in North China in the Twentieth Century the Structure and Organization of Community Rituals and Beliefs (PDF). Leiden, South Holland; Boston, Massachusetts: Brill. ISBN 9789047429364. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2018-03-03. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) Search this book on - Ruppert, Brian O. (November 2002). "Buddhist Rainmaking in Early Japan: The Dragon King and the Ritual Careers of Esoteric Monks". History of Religions. 42 (2): 143–174. doi:10.1086/463701. JSTOR 3176409. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - Sakade, Yoshinobu (2010). Nihon to dōkyō bunka 日本と道教文化. Kadokawa shoten. Search this book on
- Tom, K. S. (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends, and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824812859. Retrieved 2023-09-25. Search this book on
- Trenson, Steven (2018). "Rice, Relics, and Jewels" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 35 (2): 269–308. JSTOR 26854486.
- Trenson, Steven (2002). "Une analyse critique de l'histoire du Shōugyōhō et du Kujakukyōhō : rites ésotériques de la pluie dans le Japon de l'époque de Heian" (PDF). Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie (in français). 13: 455–495. doi:10.3406/asie.2002.1191.
- Zhang Lishan (2014-03-31). Higashi ajia ni okeru Dokō shinkō to bunka kōshō 東アジアにおける土公信仰と文化交渉 (Thesis). Kansai University. doi:10.32286/00000236.
Worship of the Dragon God[edit]
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