Basic Study on the Policies of the Kamakura Shogunate toward Religion

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In an effort to understand the policies of the Kamakura shogunate toward religion, this study produced a database of references in primary historical sources to investigate the career of each of the Buddhist monks active in Kamakura. The results clarified the trends among monks of Hojo descent as well as the character of the careers of shogunal monks in their hierarchical relationship with the Kamakura shogunate and their related movement into Kyoto.First, fifty-eight monks of Hojo descent were examined. Among those of which the sectarian affiliation could be determined, fourteen were of Shingon, twenty-four were of Onjoji, eight were of Mount Hiei, and three were of Zen. This study established that claims commonly still made that the shogunate took an antagonistic stance toward Enryakuji are inaccurate.Next, an investigation was made of the examples of shogunal monks who took over the leading positions in powerful temples of the capital area. Although there were no examples during the … More era of the Minamoto shoguns ( 1180-1219), with the era of the shogan Kujo Yoritsune (1219-1246) and the context of the flourishing of the Buddhist world of the Eastern region, shogunal monks regularly became abbots of Toji and of other powerful temples of Shingon. However, during the era of the shogunal regents Hojo Tokiyori and Tokimune (1246-1284), the regular succession of shogunal monies to abbacies of powerful temples in the capital era came to a complete halt. The reason for this change was the conflict between the shogun and Tokimune, which caused a loss in shogunal power. Moreover, together with the regent Tokiyori's banishing of the guardian monks of the shogun, the policy of the shogunate toward religion suddenly changed., and monks of the Zen and Ritsu schools were now patronized more than monks of the exoteric-esoteric schools.However, with the era of the regents Hojo Sadatoki and Takatokj ( 1284-1333 ) , shogunal monks acquired abbacies in Onjoji (chori), Enryakuji (Tendai zasu) , and Toji (choja) - all of the most powerful temples of the capital area. The reason for this change was the attack by the Mongols; the shogunate actively sent shogunal monks to the powerful temples of the capital area in an effort to construct a system of ritual prayer against the Mongol threat.In this way, the policies of the Kamakura shogunate toward religion changed dramatically during the eras of the regents Tokiyori and Sadatoki. Until now, we historians have overlooked the shift. Thus, my study surely will have a great impact on not only the analysis of the shogunate's policies toward religion but also on theories concerning the Kamakura shogunate as such. Less