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Seat of learning

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RELIGIOUS STORIES have often been linked in some ways to man's awe of nature, a theme that plays a big role in many legends. The best known in Japan is the tale behind the country's most famous temple, Toshodaiji, founded by Jianzhen, a blind Chinese monk known in Japan as Ganjin. The history of Toshodaiji, whose exquisite treasures are now on display at the Tokyo National Museum, is linked to typhoons and earthquakes. It's said that the temple could be built only after its blind founder had braved typhoons to reach Japan 1,246 years ago. And the 1995 Hanshin earthquake helped bring about the present exhibition.

Built in the then-capital of Nara, Toshodaiji served as a showcase of Chinese Buddhist architecture and sculpture, and a repository of Buddhist scriptures and practices. Exhibition curator Mitsuharu Iwasa says the temple has had an enormous cultural influence on Japan. 'Because Japan is an island surrounded by the sea, we've always been deeply interested in overseas culture,' he says. 'This is also true today, but back in those days, Chinese culture was the newest and the best, and things 'made in China' were highly regarded.'

Added to the historical significance of Toshodaiji is the drama of Ganjin's attempts to reach his destination. When typhoons held him up, the religious aura of the traveller was only enhanced. The trials that he faced on his journeys, and his success in reaching his goal, became powerful metaphors for the Buddhist path to enlightenment.

Before Ganjin's arrival, Japan had steadily been going Buddhist for almost two centuries. But the difficulty of the sea voyage meant Japanese Buddhism was cut off from the more developed and doctrinally correct schools of Buddhism in China. Also, Buddhism's rapid growth in Japan meant there was a need for order and discipline. So, in 733, in one of history's great acts of headhunting, the Japanese emperor Shomu sent envoys to Tang dynasty China to recruit a Buddhist master to reform the religion.

In 742, after several years in China, the envoys asked Ganjin, who was then abbot of Daming Temple near Yangzhou, to come to Japan. He's said to have responded with the words: 'For the sake of Buddhism, how can I begrudge my life?' The comments reflect his recognition that the voyage to Japan was considered dangerous.

His first two voyages ran into fierce gales and it seemed as if Japan's Shinto gods were doing all in their power to stop encroachment on their influence by a foreign religion. During one voyage, Ganjin was blown off course as far as Hainan Island and shipwrecked on a deserted coast for several months. After being rescued, he became infected with a disease that blinded him on the long journey back to Yangzhou.

Iwasa says the Chinese government and Ganjin's fellow monks were reluctant to let him go on such a dangerous journey. Interference from authorities seems to have thwarted three of his attempts. In 745, after his sixth attempt and third sea voyage, he finally reached his destination. Once in Japan, Ganjin reformed Japanese Buddhism and created a cultural revolution, introducing new styles and techniques of architecture and sculpture.

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