Kukai (774-835)

Japanese Buddhist priest (real name Kobo Daishi), founder of the Shingon sect, legendary saint and sage. Son of an aristocratic family, Kukai early on abandoned governmental studies for Buddhism, denouncing Confucianism and Daoism in a controversial work, Sango shiki (Principles of the Three Teachings, 798). After years as a wandering monk, he sailed to China in 804 and studied esoteric Buddhism there until 806. In 809 he became abbot of a Kyoto temple and a leader of cultural and religious life. He is credited with the development of the native Japanese syllabic script, kana, from Chinese characters, and renowned as a poet, calligrapher, and compiler of the oldest extant dictionary in Japan. His religious writings, some 50 works expounding esoteric Shingon doctrine, are also famous, enhancing his image as a universal genius and founder of Japanese culture. In 819 he began the building of the great Shingon monastery on Mount Koya, and also established a free school in Kyoto for able students rich or poor. Legends of his wisdom and holiness are found across Japan.