Nitto Guho Junrei Koki (Record of a Pilgrimage to Tang China in Search of the Law), by Ennin, copied by Kanetane

The Oldest Copy of Ennin's Travel Diary

The Nitto Guho Junrei Koki (Record of a Pilgrimage to Tang China in Search of the Law), by Ennin, copied by Kanetane (入唐求法巡礼行記〈円仁記／兼胤筆〉) is the 1291 copy by Kanetane of the Nitto Guho Junrei Koki, the travel diary of Ennin, owned by a corporation in Shimomakuwa, Motosu City, Gifu Prefecture, and deposited at the Kyoto National Museum, which in 1952 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a Kamakura-period work in four folded volumes, owned by Ando Sekisan.

According to the Jodo Shu encyclopedia, it is the oldest surviving copy, formerly held at Kanchiin of Toji.

The Diary

According to the encyclopedia, it is a four-part record by Ennin, who accompanied the last Japanese embassy to Tang China, written as a diary of the nine years from 838 to 847 in search of the Buddhist law.

It describes Buddhism in late Tang China, including Emperor Wuzong's suppression of Buddhism in the Huichang era, as well as the customs of the day.

What to Look For

The encyclopedia notes that it records Ennin receiving esoteric teachings at Qinglongsi in Chang'an and learning Fazhao's five-tone nembutsu at Zhulinsi on Mount Wutai, which he brought back to Japan.

This copy by Kanetane is the oldest surviving version of a Japanese monk's eyewitness record of ninth-century China.

Visiting the Nitto Guho Junrei Koki (Record of a Pilgrimage to Tang China in Search of the Law), by Ennin, copied by Kanetane

Gifu Prefecture notes that the manuscript is deposited at the Kyoto National Museum; check the museum's schedule for display.