Paper short abstract:

In the first part of the Early Modern period., Reikū Kōken promulgated what came to be known as the Anraku precepts. This presentation examines the direction, focusing on the disavowal of oral transmission and the end of the worship of Matara-Jin , in Reikū's criticisms of Tendai esotericism.

Paper long abstract:

Tendai Buddhism and Shinto underwent a series of significant changes in the first part of the Early Modern period. One of these changes was the disavowal of oral transmissions of Buddhist teachings. Kōben was the third Hosshin nō 法親王 (a senior abbacy by imperial proclamation for an ordained male member of the imperial family) of the Rinnō-ji Monzeki from 1690 to 1715. With Kōben's support, Reikū Kōken 霊空光謙 promulgated what came to be known as the Anraku 安楽 precepts.

This precepts movement disavowed the secret oral transmissions of the Middle Ages, and standardized "orthodox" textually based precepts from China throughout the Tendai sect. Another development was a tightening of regulations within the sect, which extended to its scholastics and doctrinal training. In the Tendai esotericism of this period, the Hōman 法曼tradition came to be favored above the Yōjō 葉上 and Sanmai 三昧 traditions, unifying the Abhisheka initiation tradition throughout the Tendai institution.

We may also observe that a first revision of the 'Tōshōgū Honjiku' 東照宮本地供 (Offering to the "Original Ground" (fundamental person) of the Tōshōgū Shrine) was made at this same point in time. This presentation examines the direction taken by Early Modern Tendai, focusing on the disavowal of oral transmission and the end of the worship of Matara-Jin 摩多羅神, a kami typical of Japan's Middle Ages, as demonstrated in Reikū's criticisms of the Genshi kimyō dan 玄旨帰命壇 school of Tendai esotericism.　

The trends toward the publication of knowledge demonstrated in these case studies were not limited to the Tendai sect. I will discuss their wider commonality within Early Modern Japanese religions as a whole, including Confucianism.