Return to the Buddhism siteShingon shu
Kukai was the founder of the Shingon shu sect. Kukai learned Chinese ideology and Chinese philosophy in Japan when he was young. However, he thought he could not serve the people or relieve their suffering by studying Buddhism in Japan. Therefore, he decided to go to China to continue his studies. Kukai and Saicho (founder of the Tendaishu sect) went to China at the same time during the T'ang Dynasty . They may have met each other while studying in China but even if they met each other, they did not think that both of them were going to be founders of Japanese Buddhist sects. Now, both Tendai shu and Shingon shu Buddhism sects are the oldest and most popular in Japan. Kukai established a school "Shugeishuchi-in" for the common people at Kujo in Kyoto. He taught them about Buddhism and Confucianism. The head temple of Shingon shu sects are Kongoubuji and Touji.
Kukai is one of the three great calligraphers in the Heian period. On the way to China, the ship he took, went adrift. The ship arrived at a place that was about a thousand kilometers away from its destination. Therefore, a government officer did not believe that they were an envoy from Japan and did not give permission to land in China. Although an ambassador wrote a letter many times to petition for landing, the ambassador did not receive any answer at all. However, the envoy received permission because of a beautiful, beautiful letter and the good style when Kukai wrote a letter for the ambassador.
Kukai (774-835 A.D.)