SHŌMYŌ

Shōmyō: translation

Japanese term for singing and composingBuddhist chants. Because Buddhist chanting originated in India and afterward was transmitted to China and Japan, all three languages are heard. Chantedhymnsin Pāli are calledbonsan; in Chinese,kansan; in Japanese,wasan. Chants are also classified according to their functions: teaching (kōshikiandrongi), praise and lamentation (sandan), intercession (kigan), offering (kuyō), etc.; and according tomodeand rhythm. Kyoto has been home to theshōmyōtradition since the ninth century. Kūkai established Tōji as the center of the Shingon sect in 806 (later moved to Mt. Kōya south of Osaka), and Saichömade Enryakuji the center of the Tendai sect in 847. The chanting of Zen and Pure Land Buddhists developed strongly at Kamakura in the 13th and 14th centuries. Buddhist traditions in general declined sharply after the Mejii Restoration in 1868, but Yoshida Tsunezō (1872–1957) and Taki Dōnin (1890–1949) revived the Tendai chant while Yuga Kyō-nyo (1847–1928) and Iwahara Taishin (1883–1965) revived the Shingon early in the 20th century. Today, an archive ofshōmyōmay be found at Ueno Gakuen College.