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)
3
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
4
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
5
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
6
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
7
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
8
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
9
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
10