This Case Study centers on the writings of Shōgetsubō Keisei 証月坊慶政 (1189-1268), a Tendai monk who belonged to the highest ranks of the Kujō family. At the age of eighteen or twenty, he left Onjōji (Miidera), where he was trained, to settle down in a temple in the western hills of Kyoto, thereby joining the ranks of the so-called “recluse monks”. He was in close relationship with Kegon monk Myōe 明恵 (1173-1232), with whom he shared this status, as well as a pronounced interest for dreams and oracles.
Two among Keisei’s writings will be used as a basis for research on the perception of time and emotion in recluse literature (inja bungaku 隠者文学). First, the foundation narrative of Hokkesanji, the temple Keisei built in the western hills of Kyōto, above Matsuo will be looked at. Hokkesanji engi 法華山寺縁起, which was completed for the inauguration of the temple’s pagoda in 1227, includes factual elements on the temple buildings and possessions, as well as brief narrative parts in the vein of Buddhist anecdotes. Second, the Hirasan kojin reitaku 比良山古人霊託 (The Oracle of the Old Man at Hirasan, 1239), which consists in a set of three dialogues between Keisei and the Great Tengu of Mount Hira will be explored. This exchange provides a great window onto Keisei’s (rather pessimistic) views on the afterlife, through the explanations given by the tengu on the fate of a number of historical and political figures, both contemporary and long past.
Although different in nature, both Hokkesanji engi and Hirasan kojin reitaku encapsulate many of the themes that accompany Keisei throughout his life: a deep sense of the importance of heritage and transmission and a marked interest for oracles, dreams, and tales. In order to integrate the twin aspects of time and emotion organically, I will focus on the one hand on subjectivity, and on the other hand on non-computational aspects of time, through the lens of three thematic perspectives: 1) dreams and oracles, 2) transmission and 3) compassion as a common denominator.
