Travel Papers from Tang China
In 804, a monk named Saichō stepped ashore on the coast of Tang China. To go any farther inland, he needed permission in writing. This National Treasure is a single handscroll that keeps two such documents, called chō, issued to him by Chinese provincial offices.
One was drawn up at Mingzhou, near present-day Ningbo in Zhejiang, on the twelfth day of the ninth month of Zhenyuan 20 (804). The other came from Taizhou, in the same province, in the second month of Zhenyuan 21 (805). Each records a request Saichō submitted and the authorization an official granted in reply. Part of the writing is in Saichō's own hand.
The monk is better known today by the title given to him after his death: Dengyō Daishi, the Great Master Who Transmitted the Teaching. The scroll has carried his name ever since.
Why It Became a National Treasure
The scroll was designated a National Treasure on March 20, 1954. Its importance rests on the man who carried it and on what survives in his handwriting.
Saichō (767–822) founded the Tendai school of Japanese Buddhism. He crossed to China as a sanctioned member of the official embassy, studied near Mount Tiantai in Zhejiang, and returned the following year with texts and teachings that became the foundation of a new school on Mount Hiei. Without this journey, there would be no Japanese Tendai, and without Tendai the later founders of Kamakura Buddhism would have had no mountain to train on.
Documents in Saichō's own hand are rare. These certificates are among the few, which makes them a primary witness to his life rather than a later copy. They also preserve the workaday language of Tang provincial administration, useful to anyone studying how the medieval Chinese bureaucracy handled foreign travelers.
What to Look For
Read the brushwork first. The characters are firm and unhesitating, the hand of someone used to writing. Saichō's petitions sit beside the replies added by Chinese clerks, so the page sets two trained hands against each other on the same sheet.
Notice the structure of a Tang certificate. A petitioner states his business; the office endorses it and dates the endorsement by the Zhenyuan era and the place of issue. Mingzhou and Taizhou appear by name, fixing the route across a province that still exists.
One practical point. The scroll is not always on view. It belongs to Enryaku-ji and is kept at the temple's treasure hall, where it appears during special exhibitions rather than year round, so it rewards a little planning before you go.
Around Mount Hiei
Enryaku-ji spreads across Mount Hiei on the border of Kyoto and Ōtsu, and the whole complex is part of the World Heritage listing for the historic monuments of ancient Kyoto. The scroll lives in the Kokuhōden, the temple's treasure hall, in the eastern Tōdō precinct close to the bus center.
The hall's name carries a lesson of its own. It comes from a line Saichō wrote in his rule for students: to light one corner of the world is itself the nation's true treasure. He meant that the real treasure is the human heart, not any object kept under glass.
Reaching the mountain is half the visit. A cable car climbs from Sakamoto on the Shiga side, and a cable car and ropeway link up from Yase on the Kyoto side. The Konpon Chūdō, the central hall where a lamp is said to have burned without interruption for twelve centuries, stands a short walk from the treasure hall.
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Q&A
- Can I see the actual scroll when I visit?
- It is owned by Enryaku-ji and stored at the Kokuhōden treasure hall, but it goes on display only on occasion, usually as part of a special exhibition. Check the temple's schedule before you travel.
- What language is the document written in?
- Classical Chinese, the administrative language of the Tang court and its provincial offices.
- Why are there two certificates?
- One was issued at Mingzhou in 804 and the other at Taizhou in 805, at different stages of Saichō's stay in China.
- Did Saichō write the whole scroll himself?
- The petition portions are in his own hand. The authorizations were added by Tang officials, which is why two distinct hands appear.
- How long was Saichō in China?
- He left in 804 and returned in 805, a stay of less than a year, after which he set up the Tendai school on Mount Hiei.
Basic Information
| Name | Dengyō Daishi Nittō-chō (伝教大師入唐牒) |
|---|---|
| Location | Enryaku-ji, Mount Hiei, Ōtsu, Shiga (held at the Kokuhōden treasure hall) |
| Designation | National Treasure (ancient documents) |
| Date designated | March 20, 1954 |
| Period | Tang dynasty, 804–805 |
| Quantity | One handscroll |
| Owner | Enryaku-ji |
| Viewing | Shown occasionally at the treasure hall, not on permanent display |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/201/799
- Hieizan Enryaku-ji, Kokuhōden Treasure Hall
- https://www.hieizan.or.jp/keidai/kokuhoden
- Shiga Prefecture Tourism Information, Hieizan Enryaku-ji
- https://www.biwako-visitors.jp/spot/detail/58/
Last verified: 2026.06.09