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ANOTHER IDEOLOGY OF LAND RECLAMATION
Chôgen, Ôbe Estate, and Sayama Pond
Ôyama Kyôhei
Kyôto University
1
Estates and Villages
• Chôgen restored Ôbe estate in Harima & Sayama (irrigation) pond in Kawachi
• A study of Ôbe estate enables understanding of shôen system
• A study of Sayama pond illuminates medieval villages & their religious life
2
Restoration of Sayama Pond, 1202
• 50 villages used Sayama pond for irrigation
• They asked Chôgen to repair it
Sayama Pond & the villages it served (from Ôyama Kyôhei, Nihon chûsei no mura to kamigami, Iwanami shoten 2012)
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Chôgen & Sayama Pond: Evidence
• Stone stele records Chôgen’s restoration of pond
• Stele refers to villages, not estates• Village was setting for people’s daily lives• (As opposed to estate which was political
unit)• Chôgen participated in people’s daily lives
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History of Sayama Pond
• Aqueduct made of cedar logged in 616 shows it existed in 7th century
• Restored by Chôgen in 1202 & again in 1608 by Hideyoshi’s retainer
• Location of 7th & 17th century aqueducts indicate that water flowed in same direction during both periods
• 1608: 70-80 villages shared water from the pond--from Kawachi, Settsu, & Izumi, as in Chôgen’s day
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Jôdoji on Ôbe Estate
• Jôdoji: 1 of 7 autonomous temples established by Chôgen
• Supported by lands on eastern portion of estate (middle terrace)
• Lower terrace to west: developed much earlier using Kako river water
• Chôgen developed middle terrace & made it into Jôdoji territory
• Lower terrace controlled by Tôdaiji
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Restoring Sayama Pond
• Sayama restored by labor of “clergy and laypersons, men and women, novices and children, beggars and outcastes” (from Chôgen’s stone stele, 1202)
• People from bottom of society--beggars & outcastes--participated
• Old stone coffins from burial mounds were linked to form aqueducts
• Stonemasons from China were associated with Chôgen
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Chôgen’s Good Works
• Chôgen left his mark on:– Tôdaiji– Heian-kyô, Iga province, Inland Sea region from
Settsu to Suô: partly through his 7 autonomous temples
– His influence extended to rest of E. Asia
• His “good works” intended to advance goal of peace & tranquillity in the realm
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Chôgen & Shingon Esotericism
• Sayama stele includes Sanskrit characters representing 5 elements & mantra of light
• Basis of his thought: Shingon esotericism and its practical spirit
• Enlightened ideology at dawn of medieval age--> Chôgen’s public works projects
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Monks and Public Works Projects
• As daikanjin, Chôgen solicited donations for Sayama pond restoration
• Assisted by Ban Amida Butsu, who was active on Mt. Kôya’s holding Ôta estate in Bingo province
• Similar figures, e.g. Mongaku (Kaseda estate in Kii province)
• Such religious figures embody an ideology of land reclamation
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