COMMUNICATIONS

Tenryūji was founded in the 1340s. The sponsor was Ashikaga Takauji. Takauji was the warrior leader who betrayed Emperor Godaigo. He was terrified to learn that Godaigo had died full of resentment. He feared lest Godaigo in death become a vengeful spirit and curse him.

Takauji sought the counsel of monks, and built his temple in Saga. There he worshipped Godaigo’s spirit, beseeching him “Please do not curse us. May you rest in peace.” I was brought up in Saga, and this is the story of Tenryūji as it was told to me. 

It is not just a matter of Takauji and Godaigo. There were many men of power in Japan who feared the vengeful spirits of those they had destroyed. There were cases of those whose fear was so great that they made kami out of the men they had defeated. Sugawara no Michizane, who is worshipped as Tenjin at the Kitano Tenmangū shrine, is a typical example. The idea was to deify sworn enemies in the realm of the imagination in order to better guarantee one’s advantage in the real world. This sort of spiritual trading was common-place.

I have been wondering recently if there cultures other than Japan that share this sort of spirituality? Can anybody out there say, “We do something similar”? If so, please get in touch.