About this objectEnnin (圓仁 794–868) went to China with a diplomatic mission and was meant to return with them, but for various reasons his stay was extended. He lived for a while in a monastery of Korean monks on the northeast coast and walked from there to Wutaishan over two months with two novices.
He spent the next few years in the Tang capital, Changan, but a presecution by the Tang emperor of 'foreign' religions, including Buddhism, led him to return home.
His account Nittō guhō junrei gyōki (入唐求法巡礼行記, A Record of Travels to Tang China in Search of the Law), gives numerous details of the peoples and places he encountered on this travels, including the effects of the persecution. The original is now lost. There are two manuscript copies, one copied in 1291 by Ken'in (兼胤), a monk at Chōraku-ji (長楽寺), Kyoto. It is now in Tōji (東寺) and shown here. The second was made in 1805.
Date Made8th c.
Place MadeJapan
Subject and Association KeywordsPilgrimage
Subject and Association KeywordsBooks
Subject and Association DescriptionLearn More: Palmer 2009; Reischauer (trans.) 2020.
