The Hachiman Cult and the Dokyo Incident Author(s): Ross Bender Reviewed work(s): Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Summer, 1979), pp. 125-153 Published by: Sophia University Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2384320 . Accessed: 14/12/2011 06:33 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Sophia University is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Monumenta Nipponica. http://www.jstor.org The HachimanC ult and theD 6ky6 Incident by Ross BENDER XOI NE of theg ravesta ssaultse verm ade on theJ apanesei mperiailn stitution was launchedb y the Buddhistp riestD 6ky6' in the 760s. Dokyo, who came froma clan of the low-rankinpgr ovinciala ristocracyg,a inedt he affectionof ther etiredE mpressK 6ken2i n 761 and proceededt o gatherp olitical power to himself;b y the end of the decade he stood as the paramountf igure in the courtb ureaucracyan d had alreadyb egunt o usurpi mperialp rerogatives. It was in 769 thata n oraclef romt hes hrineo f Hachimani n Kyushuw as reported to Nara: the god prophesiedp eace in the realmi f Dokyo werep roclaimede m- peror.K oken (who had reascendedt he thronea s EmpressS hotoku),u pon the adviceo ft heg od givenh eri n a dream,d ispatchedW ake no Kiyomaro3t o Kyushu to ascertainH achiman's true will. Kiyomaror eturnedt o the capital with the famouso racle: Since the establishmenotf our state,t he distinctionb etweenl ord and subjecth as been fixed.N everh as thereb een an occasionw hena subjectw as made lord. The throneo f HeavenlyS un Successions hall be givent o one of thei mperiall ineage;w ickedp ersonss houldi mmediatelbye swepta way.4 THE AUTHOR wishes to thank Professor H. man'yoganaW Ifi5l forp articlesa nd inflected Paul Varleyf orh is assistancei n the prepara- endings.I have used the followinge ditionsi n tion of the M.A. thesis on which the present translatingt he entriesr elatingt o Hachiman: articlei s based. Kuroita KatsumiM MOX, ed., ShokuN ihongi, 1 IA Kokushi Taikei Kankokai, 1935, and Hira- 2 ; izumi Kiyoshi '1 ed., Shoku Nihongi, Dai-Nihon Bunko, 1939. The latter edition 4 Shoku Nihongi[ SN] eL Fl JingoK eiun contains a complete interlinearg loss, but 3.9.25. only the firsth alf of the work has been Shoku Nihongi is the second of the Six published. National Histories (Rikkokushi /iM) and The firsts ix of the 40 volumesa re available was completed in 797. The work is in 40 in translationin J. B. Snellen,' Shoku Nihongi: volumesa nd was compiledu ndert hed irection Chronicles of Japan, continued,f rom A.D. of Sugano no Mamichi lgA and Fujiwara 697-791' [Books I-VI], in TASJ, 2nd series, no Tsugunawa XWh40. The firste ntryc or- xi (1934), pp. 151-239, & xiv (1937), pp. 209- responds to 22 August 697, and the last, 16 28. Some of the edicts are translateda nd January7 92. Although the language of the paraphrasedi n G. B. Sansom, 'The Imperial narrativei s Chinese, the imperiale dicts were Edicts In The Shoku-Nihong(i7 00-790 A.D.)', writteni n semmyogaki ? which used in TASJ, 2nd series,i (1924), pp. 5-39. 126 MonumentNa ipponicaX,X XIV, 2 Althought hep riestt ook his vengeanceu pon Kiyomarob y exilingh imt o Osumi, Dokyo's ownp owers oon dissolvedf, ort hee mpressd iedi n thef ollowingy eara nd Dokyo was banishedf romt hec apital.H e died threey earsl aterw hiles ervingin a lowlyp ost at a templei n Shimotsuke. The Dokyo incidentm arksa colorfual nd crucialp ointi n Japaneseh istorya,n d can be fruitfullsytu diedi n manyd ifferenwta ys.O ne mighta nalyzet her elations oft heg reatc lanso f theN ara perioda nd thec ontributioonf f actionals truggletso Dokyo's rise; one mighte xploret he patterno f femaler ule in early Japanese historyan d its demisei n theD okyo incident;5t hec oup attemptm ightb e studied solely out of fascinationf or the intriguingp ersonalitiesin volved.T here are myriadp ossibilitiesb,u t thep resenta rticlei s concernedw itht he doctrinatl hreat whichD okyo's risep osed to thel egitimacyof theJ apanesei mperialf amilyT. he primaryf ocus of thisi nquiryw ill be an examinationo f the participationo f the Hachiman beliefi n this crisiso f legitimacyT. he discussionw ill centero n the questiono f how Hachiman,a formerloyb scureg od, came to be associatedw ith politicale ventso ft heN ara perioda nd willa ttemptto deal witht hep roblemo ft he significancoef thed eity'sr ole in thisc rucialc haptero f Japaneseh istory. Who, then,w as Hachiman,a deitys o powerfutlh ath e could pronounceo n the successiont o the imperialt hrone?W hy was he so greatlyr everedt hat it was necessaryf ori mperiaml essengertso travela ll thew ayf romt hep oliticalc entero f poweri n Nara to the northeastc ornero f Kyushut o ascertainh is will? As one writeras ksr hetorically'W, eren'tt herea nyg odsi n Nara ?' 6 Hachimani s commonly identifieads the' Shintog od of war'. This,f ore xample,i s thed efinitioinn Robert K. Reischauer'sr eferencwe orkE arlyJ apaneseH istorya, nd he citest hew orship of Hachimanb y Minamotog enerals.7T he Minamotoc ult has likelyb een the mosti mportansto urcef ort hism artiali dentificatioonf Hachiman-when Basho visiteda Hachimans hrinea t Kurobane,h is thoughtst urnedt o the exploitso f Nasu no Yoichi Munetaka,a Minamotor etainerw ho called on Hachimana t the Battleo f Yashima in thef inals tageso f the GempeiW ar.8 Japaneses cholars,h owever,h ave looked beyondt his medievalp hase of the Hachimanc ult and begunt he task of interpretinegar liers tageso f the belief.A numbero f Westernw ritersh ave also discoveredt he complexityo f the faith. U. A. Casal, despitet he titleo f his article( 'Hachiman,d er KriegsgotJt apans'), concludeda ftera briefh istoricasl ketcha nd examinationo f thep opularc ultt hat thew ar-goda spectw as onlyp arto f thep icture-Hachimanw as to a greate xtent a protectoran d preserveorf lifei n non-militarcyo ntexts.9(C asal found,i nciden- I AfterS hotoku, no woman occupied the History,P rincetonU .P., 1937, p. 133. throne until the 17th century.T he last two 8 NobuyukiY uasa, tr.,T heN arrowR oad to empresses in their own right were Meisho the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches, (r. 1629-43) and Go-Sakuramachi (r. 1762- PenguinB ooks, Baltimore,1 966, p. 103. 70). 9 U. A. Casal, 'Hachiman der Kriegsgott 6 Hermann Bohner, 'Wake-no-Kiyomaro- Japans', in Mitteilungend er Deutsche Gesell- den', in MN in (1940), p. 262. schaftf ur Natur und VolkerkundeO stasiens, 7 Robert K. Reischauer, Early Japanese 1962, pp. 19-21. BENDER: The HachimanC ulta nd theD okyo Incident 127 tally,t hat Hachiman's powers are so broad that women bringi nfantst o the shrinet o prayf orp rotectionag ainsti ntestinawl orms.)J eanH erbertp, roceeding fromt he present-dayid entificatioonf Hachimanw ith Ojin and Jingualt most shrinesd, iscussedt heK ojikia nd Nihonglie gendso f theses overeigns.'0 The resultingp ictureo f Hachimani s one of an amorphousd eityw ithm yriad functionsa,n d certainlyth isi mage contributelsi ttlet o an understandinogf the broaderp oliticals ignificancoef Hachimani n Japaneseh istoryI.t is hoped that confinintgh ise ssayp rimarilyto an explorationo f Hachimana s perceivedb y the Nara courtw ill help to produce a cleareri mage of the deitya nd his political functionisn thee ighthc entury. The Origino f theH achimanC ult Shoku Nihongii s the earliesto fficiahl istoryt o mentionH achiman; the name appearsi n neitherK ojikin orN ihongiT. he Hachimano fS hokuN ihongiis enshrined at Usa" in Buzenp rovinceo n then ortheascto ast of Kyushu.U nfortunateltyh is chroniclec ontainsn o accounto f thef oundationo f theU sa shrinea nd thee arliest survivingle gendo f its origind atesf romt hen inthc entury. This legendc oncernst he firstm anifestatioonf Hachimana nd appearsi n Usa (JJwa)E ngi,'2 compiledb y the governoro f Buzen in 844. Accordingt o this account,a n old blacksmithli ved in the late yearso f Kimmei'sr eign( late sixth centuryn) eara lake below Mt Omotoi n theU sa region.H e was visitedb y a man named Omiwa,'3 who stayedt heref ort hreey ears,s pendingh is timei n prayer. Then, in the thirty-sevenythea r of Kimmei'se ra, a golden hawk appeared to Omiwa. Swiftlyth e hawk transformeidts elfi nto a dove, whichi n turnc hanged intoa youngb oy,w ho announced:' I am thes ixteenthh umane mperorH, omuda Tenno,t heb road-bannereHd achiman-marol. 4' This accountd oes nott ellu s mucha bout theo rigino f thec ulti n question,a nd it is not surprisintgh atJ apaneses cholarsh ave doubtsa s to thes ignificancoef the myth.O ne authoritysu ggestst hatt he datingo f the manifestatioinn Kemmei's reignm ay connote an early associationw ith Buddhism;'5 it is not generally believedt hatt hef iguroef Ojin (Homuda Tenno)w as associatedw itht heH achiman belieff romi tsb eginningsB. eyondt hep ointt hatt her eferencetso thes mitha nd to thep ossessiono f a childb y a god suggesta shamanistiocr igino f thec ult,'6 there is probablyli ttlet o be gainedf roma n examinationof t hist ale. 10 JeanH erbertS, hinto:A t theFountainhead 'gtli -, Hachimanguni o KenkyaA Mgoiff5E, of Japan, Stein & Day, New York, 1967, Risosha, 1956, pp. 6-7. pp. 426-40. 'Homuda Tenno' -1HXA in the textr efers 112f& to EmperorO jin. 15 Miyaji,p p. 6-7. 13 ; 16 Miyaji, pp. 7-8. See Mircea Eliade, 14 Nakano Hatayoshi rPV"f, Hachiman Shamanism: Archaic Techniqueso f Ecstasy, Shinkoshin o Kenkya A rR{MlOPoff, Yoshi- PrincetonU .P., 1964, pp. 470-4, fora discus- kawa Kobunkan, 1967, p. 6; Miyaji Naokazu sion of 'Shamans and Smiths'. 128 MonumentaN ipponica,X XXIV,2 However,w ithint hel ast decade a Japaneses cholarh as completeda n extensive investigatioinn to the originso f Hachiman,a nd the resultso f his studyw ill be summarizedb rieflyh ere.I n HachimanSh inkoshnio KenkyuN, akano Hatayoshi proceededf romt hep remiset hatt he developmenotf Shintoc annotb e separated fromt hes hizoku'7 societyw hichp roducedi t. Accordinglhye studiedt heh istories of the uji'8 whicha re knownf romn inth-centurdyoc umentst o have been con- nectedw ithH achimana nd attemptedt o producea clearerp ictureo f the early developmenotf t hec ult.N akano believest hatt heH achimanf aithd id noto riginate exclusivelyat Usa, but was rathert he resulto f a process of amalgamationo f the ujigamib eliefso f variousc lans whichf inallyf oundi ts centera t the present shrinein Usa. The threec lansw hosed eitiesw eret hep rincipacl onstituentosf this amalgamw eret he Usa clan,t heK arajima'9 clan,a nd theO miwa clan. The Usa clan itselfw as the resulto f a union of clans,t he mosti mportanto f whichw as theA ma20c lan,w hichh ad worshippeda divined ragonk ing.A rever- encef ort hisd eityw as commona mongm aritimpe eoplesa longt hec oast of Kyu- shu, but what distinguishetdh e deityo f the Usa clan was the animisticw orship of threem egalithos n the Maki peak of Mt Omoto. Althought hisw ould seemt o indicatea phallicc ult,t he Usa clan god was actuallyi dentifieads a femaled eity and had a maritimaes sociation( ther ocksb eingu sed as guidest o shipping.T) he area occupiedb y theU sa clan corresponderdo ughlyt o whatb ecamet hes outhern half of the ancientp rovinceo f Buzen and was termed' Yamakuni' in the clan histories. Nakano believest hatt heK arajimac lan originatedf roma groupo f immigrants fromK orea who worshippeda Korean deityT. his tribep ossessedb ronzew eapons and itsr eligionw as characterizebdy shamanistiecl ementssu cha s thee mployment ofm iko,2o' r mediumsT. he area whicht heyo riginallyoc cupieds eemst o haveb een the northernar ea of Buzen, identifiedas 'Toyokuni',b ut Nakano thinkst hat sometimeb etweent het hirda nd sixthc enturietsh eyp usheds outha nd conquered the Usa people. Resultingf romt he Karajima move was a politicalu nion of the two majorc lans of the 'Yama' and 'Toyo' regions. At thisp ointi t is necessaryt o digressa nd commento n the name 'Hachiman'. The ancientJ apanesep ronunciationof the charactersw as 'yawata'; this at any rate was the readingM otoori Norinaga gave them when he transcribedt he imperiale dictso f ShokuN ihongi.2T2 he characterms eanl iterally'e ightb anners', and therea re laterl egendsw hichr elatet hat at the foundingo f the Usa shrine eightb annersd escendedf romh eavena nd plantedt hemselveos n the roofo f the shrineC. asal believest hatt he 'banners'r efert o a Chineses ystemo f banners tan- dardsf ort roopsa nd henceh ave a militarysi gnificance,b23u t the orthodoxv iew 1 7 ft; 22 Motoori Kiyozo *Jgitm, ed., Motoori 18 19; Norinaga Zenshu * Yoshikawa 19 ,q Kobunkan, 1926-7, v, p. 112. 20 g 23 Casal, p. 1. 21 ?4( BENDER: The HachimanC ulta nd theD okyo Incident 129 is thatt he name is derivedf roma n ancientp lace name and perhapsh as an agri- culturalc onnotationd erived from hatake ('field'). Miyaji Naokazu suggests yakita; Casal suggestys ahata2.4 Nakano adherest o thep lace-namet heoryb ut offeras rathern ovele xplanation. As we have seen,t heu niono f the Karajima and Usa clans resultedin a political union of the Yama and Toyo regions;t hisu nion also entaileda mergero f the ujigamio f the two clans. The god who symbolizedt hisp oliticalu nion,t hen,w as 'yamatoyo',f romw hichw as eventuallyd erived' yawata',l aterr ead 'Hachiman'. Here it wouldb e usefult o summarizeN akano's pictureo f thee arlyH achiman as existinga bout the mid-sixthce nturyb, y whicht imet he firsts hrineh ad been establisheda t Usa. The earliestp hase of thef aithh ad been a primitivaen imistic religionw ith maritimec onnotationsi,n volvinga femaled eity.T his beliefw as overlaidb y a shamanisticcu ltb roughtf romK orea. The amalgamo f beliefsw as reflecteidn then ewd eity,H achiman,w ho symbolizedth ep oliticalu nionb etween twoc lans.A ssociatedw itht hec ultw as them emoryo f thec onquesto f one clan by the other. It is interestintgo comparet hisp icturew itht hatp resentedb y anotherl egend of theo rigino f theg od, a legendw hichd atesf romm edievalt imes.T his tradition relatest heb eginningosf t hec ultt o theK ojikis toryo f 'Fire-Shinea' nd 'Fire-Fade'. Accordingt o this interpretationH,i kohohodemi25 representedt he imperial ancestralc lan in Kyushu; the Dragon King God of the Sea symbolizedt he Watatsumi26c lan, a maritimep eople livinga long the coast. In this account, Hikohohodemmi arriedT oyotamahime,2t7h e daughtero f the Sea God, and the resultingc omposited eity,i ncludingb oth figures,w as Hachiman, who thus representetdh e union of the imperiala nd maritimte ribes.28A s can be seen,t he mythf eaturest he maritimef, emininea,n d compositec haracteristicosf the deity whichN akano deducedf roms eparates ources. The thirdc lan contributintgo the Hachimanc ultw as the Omiwa. Usa (JJwa) Engir ecordsa journeyb y a certainO miwaf romY amato to Usa, whereh e arrived about the end of the sixthc entury.2N9 akano's theoryi s that a brancho f the Yamato Omiwa was dispatchedt o Kyushut o help maintainY amato's gripo n the area duringa time of troubleb oth at court( the Soga-Mononobes truggle) and in Koreanr elationsA. ccordingt o Nakano,t heo riginaOl miwac lano fY amato had close relationsw itht he Ojin/Jingcuull t,a nd the Omiwa introducedt hisc ult to Usa. Ojin incidentallyw, as the fifteentohr sixteenthe mperor( in the traditional genealogy),d ependingo n whetherh is motherJ inguils counteda s empresso r regent.A lthoughJ inguils describedi n Nihongia s carryingo ut the conquesto f 24 Miyaji, p. 15; Casal, p. 3. Hachimanjinn o Honshitsun i kansuruK ogai 25 Wq AO? t ; , Tsurugaoka Hachi- 26 "Mq mangu Shamusho,K amakura, 1947, pp. 2-4. 27 _ 29 Recountedi n Nakano, p. 137. 28 Miyaji, p. 17; Saida Moriuji 1WRI-P 130 MonumentaN ipponica,X XXIV,2 Korea, Ojin appearsa s a relativelypa cifice mperorw hose onlyw arlikea ttribute was the fleshyp ad on his arm whichr esembleda n archer'sa rm-guardP. erhaps his mostn otablef eatw as to remaini n his mother'ws ombf ort welvem onthsw hile she completedh erc onquesto f Korea.30 As has been noteda bove, it is not generallyb elievedt hatO jin was associated with the Hachiman cult fromi ts veryb eginningb, ut therea re various views concerningth e originso f thisc onnectionN. akano's explanationa s to how and whent hel inkb egani s not withoutp roblemsH. e admitst hatt heJ inguciu ltg rew up overa widea rea of northK yushu,p robablyd uringt hef ourthto sixthc enturies in a contexto f difficultiwesi tht he Korean peninsula,b ut his premisec onstrains him to finda specificc lan whichm ighth ave broughtt he faitht o Usa. Another problemi s that,a s Nakano acknowledgest,h eo nlyd ocumentrs elatingH achiman to Ojin date fromH eian times.3' It wouldb e fascinatintgo speculatea bout them eaningo ft heO jin aspecto f the Hachimanb elief,e speciallys ince some scholarsh ave linkedO jin witha fourth- centuryin vasiono f Japanf romK orea and namedh imt he actual foundero f the Japanesei mperiali nstitution.3N2e verthelesss,i nce ShokuN ihongcio ntainsn o referencteo Hachimana s associatedw ithO jin, we mustc oncludet hatt he Nara court'sv iew of Hachimanw as not coloredb y the Ojin cult.F or thep urposeso f the presenta rticlet he issue of the date and significancoef the Hachiman-Ojin unionm ustt husr emaina moot question. Hachimani n Early Nara Times THE firstr eferencteo Hachimani n ShokuN ihongisi datedT empyo9 (737), when offeringws ered ispatchedt o fives hrineso n the occasion of frictionw ithS illa.33 The Hachimans hrinet henp roceededo n a meteoricp ath,g ainingi n wealtha nd poweru ntil,w ithint hes pace of about thirtyy ears,t heg od was called on to make its pronouncemenotn the imperials uccession.O ur firstp roblemc oncernst he court'ss uddena ttentionto a previouslyo bscures hrineW. hyd id Hachimanr ise so abruptlyt o nationalp rominence? A fundamentarle asoni nvolvest he significancoef the Usa regioni tselfU. sa is mentionedin Nihongini connectionw itht hel egendo f Jimmu'sd rivet o thee ast, the chronicler elatingt hat,d uringJ immu'sc ampaign,t he expeditionp aused in Usa and was entertainedb y the local nobilityT. hen, by imperialc ommand,a princesso f the regionw as marriedt o the emperor'sa ttendantm inisterw, ho was an ancestoro f theN akatomi.34T his passagew ould seemt o indicatea n earlyl ink of some sortw itht heY amato court,o r at leastt hatU sa was an importanlto cal centerM. ore significanwta s Usa's positioni n regardt o thei mportationof conti- 30 W. G. Aston, tr., Nihongi, Allen & Dynasty in Archaic Yamato', in JAS, XXXIII Unwin, London, 1965, i, pp. 255, & 229-32. (1973), 1, pp. 25-49. 31 Nakano, p. 30. 33 SN, Tempo 9.4.1. 32 See Cornelius J. Kiley, 'State and 34 Aston, Nihongi,i, p. 112. BENDER: The Hachiman Cult and the Dokyo Incident 131 nentalc ulture;a coastal area in northernK yushuw itha good harbor,i t was certainlyin an excellentp ositiont o receivea nd transmint ewc ulturali mpulsest o thec ourt. Therei s in facte videncet hatt heB uzenr egionw as knowna t Nara fora unique and powerfulr eligiousc ulture,t ingedw ith Buddhismf roma n early period. Nihongi,f or example,r ecordst hat in 587 a priestf romT oyokuniw as invited to court.35I n the earlys eventhc enturya n Usa priestn amed Horen, who was renownedf or his healinga bilities,v isitedt he court and was rewardedb y the emperor.3N6 akano holds thatt herew as a differencbee tweent hem ikoo f Buzen and thosef rome lsewherein Japan.T he unique qualityo f the Buzen religionh, e suggestsw, as due to its combinationo f Korean,B uddhista, nd nativeb eliefsa, nd it was perceiveda t Nara as potentm agic.37 The locationo f Usa and its peculiara nd prestigiours eligiousf ormsw eret he broaderr easonsf ort her iset o nationala ttentiono f theH achimanc ult,b ut there were more specificf actors.O ne of thesew as a growingi ntegrationof Kyushu into nationalp oliticall ifea s a resulto f the centralizintgr endso f the Taika and Taiho reformsT. he Taiho code providedt hata ppointmentto the post of Dazai Sochi38( GovernorG eneralo f Kyushu)e ntaileda dvancementto the thirdr ank, and its holderr ankedj ust below the Chunagon39i n thep oliticalh ierarchy.4T0h e positionw as thusv aluablet o a clan strivingfo rs upremacyat court,a nd in fact the Fujiwarag ainedp ossessiono f the post in 732; in thaty earo ne of Fujiwara Fuhito'ss ons,M uchimaro,41 the Dainagon,w as appointedt o servec oncurrently as Dazai Sochi.T he Sochi's area of responsibilitiyn cludedt he administratioonf Kyushus hrines. A second factorw as the role of the Hachiman shrined uringt he Hayato42 disturbancews hicht roubledK yushu particularlyfr omt he Wado (708-714) to Y6ro (717-723)p eriods.T he mosti mportanetv entw as a Hayato risingi n Osumi and Hyfigai n 720. ShokuN ihongri ecordst hatt hisr ebelliono ccurreda nd thati t was suppressed,4b3u t makesn o referencteo Hachiman.O therN ara documents, howevern, otei n theirr eporto f thei ncidentt hatp rayersw erem ade at theH achi- man shrinea nd thatt he priestsl ed a divinea rmyt o subjugatet he Hayato. One scholarc oncludesf romt hist hatt he Dazaifu prayedt o Hachimani n wartimea s an importanlto cal deity.44 It was in factt o Hachiman as a war god that the Nara courtm ade its first appeals. As noteda bove, in Tempyo9 offenseosn thep arto f Silla werer eported to the Hachimans hrine( actuallyt het extm entions't he two shrines'-a reference to both the Hachiman shrinep roper and that of Himegami,45t he attendant 35 Aston, Nihongi,ii , p. 110. xi (1934), pp. 118-9. 36 &-. Nakano, pp. 124-5. 41 )SW,T_k$, aggg 37 Nakano, p. 112. 42 tA 38 ) 43 SN,. Yoro 4.3.4. 39 +M m 44 Yokota Ken'ichi* ffi ^,D okyo,Y oshi- 40 G. B. Sansom, 'Early JapaneseL aw and kawa Kobunkan, 1960, p. 188. Administration(P art II)', in TASJ, 2nd series, 45 NJ# 132 MonumentNa ipponicaX,X XIV, 2 femaled eity)a s wella s to fouro therm ajors hrines.4T6h reey earsl atert heo ccasion forp rayert o Hachimanw as a revoltb y Fujiwara Hirotsugu.47H irotsuguh ad been the governoro f Yamato, but two yearsb eforeh ad been demotedt o the post of Dazai ShAni4(8v ice-Governoorf Kyushu)a s a resulto f factionasl truggles at court.I n 740 he raiseda revolta nd in responset hec ourti ssueda n edictt o the generalA zumabito49o rderingh im to prayt o Hachiman.50A zumabitot henl ed about 15,000t roopsa gainstH irotsuguw, ho triedt o fleet o Silla, but was forced back by storms,c aptured,a nd executed.I n the followingy ear,S hoku Nihongi records,g iftso f land, servantsh, orses,a nd Buddhists utrasw ere made to the shrinea nd a pagoda was built,51p resumablyin thanksgivinfgo rt he subjugation of Hirotsugu. Thus thec ourt'sf irsatp pealst o Hachimanw erem adei n timeo f war.Y et Hiro- tsugu'sr evoltw as thel ast instancei n theN ara periodi n whichs uchp rayersw ere addressedt o Hachiman,a nd so we can hardlyc oncludet hatt hew ar-goda spect was the primarys ignificancoef the deityd uringt hisp eriod; nor do thesee arly prayerst o Hachimans hedm uchl ighto n theg od's lateri mportancien theD okyo incidentW. e can summarizbe y observingt hatt hei mportancoe f the Usa region, its unique religiousf orms,a nd its growingc ontactw ithY amato helpedp ropel Hachimant o thec ourt'sa ttentiona,n d thatt hec ourtf irstr egardedH achimana t least in part as a war god. But furthedr evelopmentisn othera reas mustb e de- scribedin ordert o providet hep roperc ontextf ort hes toryo fD okyo's intervention in government. Hachimana nd the Constructioonf the Daibutsu THE constructioonf T6daiji, its Daibutsu,a nd the attendantsy stemo fp rovincial monasterieasn d nunneriews as a chaptero f major significancien Nara history. JamesM urdocho bserved, ... it has oftens trucku s that an ingeniousw riterm ightw ell contrivet o massa fairlyco mpletea ccounto fe ighthc enturyJ apana roundt hes toryo ft his Nara Daibutsu. For in one way or anotheri t appearst o come into contact witha lmoste veryp hase of thec ontemporarnya tionala ctivity.52 For thep urposeo f thisa rticleh, owevert, hep rincipailn tereslti es in thef actt hat it was Hachiman'sd ivinea id in the constructioonf the Daibutsuw hichb rought the Shintod eityi ntoi ntimatea ssociationw itht hei mperiali nstitutioann d which catapultedi t fromt he rankso f regionalg ods to the statuso f the most revered divinityin Japan. 46 SN, Tempy6 9.4.1. 51SN, Tempyo 13.3*.24. The asterisk in 47 , -g dates referst o intercalarym onths. 48 -Z , 52 James Murdoch, A History of Japan, 49 ;mA Kegan Paul, London, 1928, i, p. 192. 50 SN, Tempyo 12.10.9. BENDER: The HachimanC ulta nd theD okyo Incident 133 Althoughw e cannota ttempta fulla ccounto f thep oliticale ventsw hichf ormed theb ackgroundf ort hec onstructioonf theD aibutsu,w e mustd escribeb rieflyth e factionals trifew hichi mmediatelpyr ecededi t. The mosti mportanats pecto f the situations eemst o have been a hiatusi n Fujiwarap owera nd thee ntryt o courto f a Buddhistp arty.53 The Fujiwaraa ncestorN akatomin o Kamatari,w ho had come to poweri n the eventso f the Taika period, had marriedh is grandchildreinn to the imperial familya,n d EmperorS homuh ad not onlya Fujiwaram otherb ut also a Fujiwara wife.B oth mothera nd wifew ered aughterso f Fuhito,a nd the ascento f Shomu to thet hronea nd the designationo f his Fujiwaraw ifea s EmpressK omyo aided in the establishmenotf Fujiwarah egemonyin thep eriodf roma bout 729 to 733. The most powerfufl iguresin the Fujiwara clan were Fuhito's four sons (one of whom,M uchimaro,w e have noted servinga s Dainagona nd concurrentlays Dazai Sochi). The newlye stablishedF ujiwarap owerw as not to last. In 735 reportsr eached the court that an epidemicw as ragingi n Kyushu and by 737 the plague had penetratedto Nara. Despite the court'so rdert hats utrasb e read throughoutth e countrya s a prophylactimc easure,m anyo f then obilityi,n cludingF uhito'sf our sons, succumbedt o the plague. Significantlhyo, wever,t he emperord id not fall ill, and one imperiapl rincew ho had been strickenre coveredT. his was attributed to them inistrationosf the Sojo (Abbot) Gembo,54a nd thea bbot's successa ided his politicalf ortuneesn ormously. The Fujiwara controlh ad been greatlyw eakeneda nd in the aftermathof the catastrophTe achibanan o Moroe55e mergeda s theh ead of governmenht,o lding thet itleD ainagona nd laterS adaijin.56 Gembow as closelya ssociatedw ithM oroe and was one of thel eadingf orcesi n the Tachibanac lique.A priesto f theH osso school,G embo had studiedi n China fore ighteeny earsa nd he is creditedw ith establishingu pon his returnt he Naidojo,57 an imitationo f the T'ang officeo f Buddhistp riestss ervingi n the palace. The Naidojo was the firstp ermanent institutionaeln tryw hichB uddhismg ainedt o thei mperiapl alace and it was to be a keyf actori n thel aterr iseo f Dokyo. Thus witht heh iatusi n Fujiwaraa uthoritya Buddhistp artyb ecamea n influen- tial politicalf orcea t court.T he constructioonf the systemo f provinciatl emples mayh ave been to some degreed ue to Gembo's instigationa,l thoughG yogiw as certainlym orec loselya ssociatedw itht heD aibutsup rojectB. ut Shomup ersonally was likelyt hem ajorf orceb ehindt het emplese' stablishmenAt.l thought he seeds fors uch a systemh ad been sown in the previousc enturyw henT emmuo rdered 5 The story of this factional strife is 7S a 3;:A (Nihon no Rekishi 2), Yomiuri readily available in general secondary his- Shimbunsha,1 960. tories. I have relied on the accounts in Aoki 54 {MIE_ Kazuo t*WJ, Nara no Miyako 3WACi4 55 4O5R (Nihon no Rekishi3 ), Chuo Koronsha, 1965, 56 ] and Okada Akio 1 Asuka to Nara 57 pkjja