Genbō (玄昉, d. 746) was a Japanese scholar-monk and bureaucrat of the Imperial Court at Nara.[1] He is best known as a leader of the
Hossō sect of
Buddhism and as the adversary of
Fujiwara no Hirotsugu.[2]
740 (Tenpyō 12): Hirotsugu petitioned for the removal of Genbō; and then
Kibi no Makibi and Genbō used this complaint as a
pretext to discredit Hirotsugu.[9] As a result, Hirotsugu initiates a futile
military campaign in the 9th month of the same year.
745 (Tenpyō 17): Genbō was exiled to
Dazaifu on the island of
Kyushu.[10]
At the time of Genbō's death, it was popularly believed that he was killed by the
vengeful spirit of Hirotsugu.[11]
^Tyler, Royall.
"Kōfukuji and Yamato,"Japan Review: Bulletin of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Kokusai Nihon Bunka Kenkyū Sentā), Issue 1-4 (1990), p. 164.
^Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959).
The Imperial House of Japan, p. 57; excerpt, "Gembo, having made improper overtures to the beautiful wife of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, the Viceroy of Dazaifu, the latter petitioned for the ...."; Matsunaga, Daigan. (1996). Foundation of Japanese Buddhism: The Aristocratic Age, p. 124; excerpt,"Since the account [in Shoku Nihongi] is somewhat contradictory and ambiguous in classical Japanese, some historians mistakenly believed that Gembo had seduced Empress Komyo, the wife of Shomu, while others thought that this was the wife of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu...'
^Grapard, Allan G. (1992).
The Protocol of the Gods: A Study of the Kasuga Cult in Japanese History, p. 67; excerpt, "We have no information concerning Gembo's exile; the Shoku-Nihongi states simply that Gembo behaved in a manner that did not befit his ecclesiastic position and that he died in 746 as he was trying to escape"; Matsunaga, p. 125; excerpt, "... the degree of Gembo's corruption remains equivocal"
Ooms, Herman. (2009). Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: the Tenmu dynasty, 650-800. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
ISBN9780824832353;
OCLC213495459
Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
Genbō (玄昉, d. 746) was a Japanese scholar-monk and bureaucrat of the Imperial Court at Nara.[1] He is best known as a leader of the
Hossō sect of
Buddhism and as the adversary of
Fujiwara no Hirotsugu.[2]
740 (Tenpyō 12): Hirotsugu petitioned for the removal of Genbō; and then
Kibi no Makibi and Genbō used this complaint as a
pretext to discredit Hirotsugu.[9] As a result, Hirotsugu initiates a futile
military campaign in the 9th month of the same year.
745 (Tenpyō 17): Genbō was exiled to
Dazaifu on the island of
Kyushu.[10]
At the time of Genbō's death, it was popularly believed that he was killed by the
vengeful spirit of Hirotsugu.[11]
^Tyler, Royall.
"Kōfukuji and Yamato,"Japan Review: Bulletin of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Kokusai Nihon Bunka Kenkyū Sentā), Issue 1-4 (1990), p. 164.
^Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959).
The Imperial House of Japan, p. 57; excerpt, "Gembo, having made improper overtures to the beautiful wife of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, the Viceroy of Dazaifu, the latter petitioned for the ...."; Matsunaga, Daigan. (1996). Foundation of Japanese Buddhism: The Aristocratic Age, p. 124; excerpt,"Since the account [in Shoku Nihongi] is somewhat contradictory and ambiguous in classical Japanese, some historians mistakenly believed that Gembo had seduced Empress Komyo, the wife of Shomu, while others thought that this was the wife of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu...'
^Grapard, Allan G. (1992).
The Protocol of the Gods: A Study of the Kasuga Cult in Japanese History, p. 67; excerpt, "We have no information concerning Gembo's exile; the Shoku-Nihongi states simply that Gembo behaved in a manner that did not befit his ecclesiastic position and that he died in 746 as he was trying to escape"; Matsunaga, p. 125; excerpt, "... the degree of Gembo's corruption remains equivocal"
Ooms, Herman. (2009). Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: the Tenmu dynasty, 650-800. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
ISBN9780824832353;
OCLC213495459
Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887