Paper short abstract:

My paper focuses on medieval narratives linking monkeys to the Sannō kami, enshrined at Hie and protectors of the Enryakuji. Exploring a text entitled "Sannō no koto" it shows that these tales were instrumental to situate Hie and its deities in the tradition of continental Buddhist mythology.

Paper long abstract:

The object of my paper are narratives articulating the relation between monkeys and a particular set of kami in medieval Japan (11th to 16th century). The kami on which I focus are the mountain sovereigns (jp. Sannō), enshrined at the Hie (now Hiyoshi) shrines, in Sakamoto, and protectors of the Enryakuji monastery on Mt Hiei. In a variety of medieval material both textual and iconographic monkeys are seen as the messengers or the manifestations of the Sannō deities. My paper explores the significance of this association, showing how it lent itself to being used expediently by religious actors wishing to highlight specific aspects of the Sannō cult. I especially focus on how monkey tales were employed in a text called “Sannō no koto”. This was likely composed between the late 12th and the early 13th century, and transmitted as part of a volume on traditions of Hie called Yōtenki (12th-15th century). “Sannō no koto” weaves a complex argument on the primacy of Hie among all other shrines, bolstering it with exemplary tales, and has a whole lengthy section on monkeys. There we see three main types of narratives: 1. ones that reach out to India, linking the legends of Hie to scriptural traditions. 2. stories set in China, especially in Buddhist monasteries. 3. stories set at Hie, where the presence of monkeys characterises the environment of the shrines, setting them apart from competing institutions. Examining these three narratives together, I show that, although they have a definite geographical scope, they are interwoven into an overarching narrative, told in a sequence such that they echo each other, and are framed as precedents of each other. This situates Hie and its deities in the wider tradition of Buddhist mythology, while also keeping them anchored to a specific locale.