Enchin

Enchin (円珍) (814–891) was a Japanese Tendai priest who founded of the Jimon (寺門派) branch of Tendai. He was the nephew of Kūkai 空海.

At the age of fourteen he became a disciple of Gishin 義眞 on Mt. Hiei. In 853 he traveled to China, visiting Mt. Tiantai and studying such Buddhist topics as the esoteric teachings 密教, Siddhaṃ script 悉曇, Vinaya and so forth.

He returned to Japan in 858, taking up residence on Mt. Hiei, and established the Dharmagupta precepts 四分律, on the basis of which he advocated separate ordination for each stage of a monkʼs development 別授. In 863 he built a precepts initiation platform at the Onjōji and three years later became its chief priest. In 868 he was appointed the fifth chief priest of the Enryakuji, with the rank of sōzu. He died in 891 at the age of seventy-eight, and was posthumously named Chishō daishi 智證大師. His writings include commentaries on the Lotus Sutra and other sutras.