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Ryōgen (良源; 912–985) was the 18th zasu (座主, head) of the Japanese Tendai (天台) School; during his tenure Tendai reached the position of dominance in Japanese Buddhism that it would hold for several centuries. His efforts were aided by patronage from the Fujiwara (藤 原) clan that dominated the court, but his relations with these nobles tended to exacerbate a sectarianism that already existed within Tendai and that would continue to bedevil the school for centuries. He has therefore been both praised as the “second founder” of Tendai, and blamed as a willing contributor to internal discord. The…

Saichō (最 澄; 766 or 767–822), also known by the posthumous title bestowed on him by the court, Dengyō Daishi (傳教大師; the Great Teacher who Transmits the Teaching), as well as other less formal titles such as Sange Daishi (山家大師; Great Teacher of the Mountain School) and Konpon Daishi (根本大師; The Fundamental Great Teacher), was the founder of the Japanese Tendai (天台) School. Saichō’s earliest biography, the Eizan Daishi den (叡山大師傳; DDZ, 5 [ furoku]) was composed several years after his death. This biography does not mention certain key events in Saichō’s life, such as his…