Mon, May 29, 2023
UNESCO’s executive board on May 24, 2023, decided to add a set of historical documents associated with Enchin (814-891; posthumously known as Chisho Daishi) — a Buddhist monk of Japan’s Heian period who traveled to Tang dynasty China to study the teachings of esoteric Buddhism — to the Memory of the World International Register, making it the eighth listing from Japan.
Enchin (814-891)
Enchin, who hailed from Sanuki Province (modern-day Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku island), traveled to Tang dynasty China in 853 to study Buddhist teachings. He pilgrimaged to Tiantai Mountain (in modern-day Zhejiang Province) and later went to Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an) to study the teachings of esoteric Buddhism under a high priest. His sojourn lasted for about five years. After returning to Japan, he became the abbot of the Tendai school of Japanese Buddhism.
“The Monk Enchin Archives: A History of Japan-China Cultural Exchange,” as it is officially listed, comprises 56 items including a travel certificate issued for Enchin in Dazaifu (Kyushu island) upon his trip to China, and a travel permit issued by a public office of the Tang dynasty. The documents, all of which are designated national treasures of Japan, are deemed to be precious historical references to cultural exchanges between Japan and China in Enchin’s time, as well as to China’s traffic system at that time.
The documents are owned by the Onjo-ji temple (a.k.a. Mi-i-dera) in Otsu (Shiga Pref.), where Enchin once served. The temple and the Tokyo National Museum (Ueno Park, Tokyo) jointly applied for the registration of the documents.
The ancient documents are deteriorating over time. By necessity, some of them are undergoing repair work at the Sakata Bokujudo workshop in Otsu, under the auspices of the Tsumugu Project, a joint effort between Japan’s Cultural Affairs Agency, Imperial Household Agency and daily newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun (Tokyo) to help restore national treasures and other precious assets.
Toshihiko Fuke, the head priest of Onjo-ji, is gratified by UNESCO’s decision to list the documents. “The documents, some of which brought the influences of esoteric Buddhism to Japan, have already been designated as Japan’s national treasures. I am overwhelmed that their historic value is now recognized worldwide.”
Some say that having kept the travel permit (called kasho) in good shape for more than 1,100 years is close to a miracle.
The temple had been burned down and its estate had been confiscated on several occasions throughout its history. “That the permit is still here is not simply by chance. It is here, today, because our ancestors strongly wished for it to be passed on,” said Fuke. He also said: “From here on, we have to strive to make its significance better known to people overseas.”
Masayuki Sakata, 65, the chairman of Sakata Bokujudo and honorary chairman of the Association for Conservation of National Treasures, says, “Important information is not only in what’s written in the documents, but also in the material used to make the paper, how the paper was made and how the paper was used.” He also said, “I am honored to be able to work on historical documents registered as a Memory of the World.”
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources)
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