− | Saicho (known posthumously as Dengyo Daishi) was a monk who left the 'Urban Buddhism' of Nara to become a recluse on Mt. Hiei, where he built a small shrine in [[788]]. He was sent by the emperor [[Kammu]] with the Japanese Ambassador to China, [[Fujiwara Kadonomaro]], to study in China in [[804]]. He returned in [[805]] to found the Tendai Lotus sect of Japanese Buddhism. His small monastery, the Enryaku-Ji, on Mt. Hiei was enlarged, and grew steadily in power and influence over the centuries, until it was nearly eradicated by [[Oda Nobunaga]] in [[1571]]. | + | Saicho (known posthumously as Dengyo Daishi) was a monk who left the 'Urban Buddhism' of Nara to become a recluse on Mt. Hiei, where he built a small shrine in [[788]]. He was sent by the emperor [[Kammu]] with the Japanese Ambassador to China, [[Fujiwara Kadonomaro]], to study in China in [[804]]. He returned in [[805]] to found the Tendai Lotus sect of Japanese Buddhism. His small monastery, the [[Enryaku-Ji]], on Mt. Hiei was enlarged, and grew steadily in power and influence over the centuries, until it was nearly eradicated by [[Oda Nobunaga]] in [[1571]]. |