律宗
律宗は「南都六宗」と呼ばれる、奈良時代における仏教の六大宗派の一つとされています。仏教の戒律の理論研究と実践を重視する点が特徴的な教義です。
南山律宗を開いた唐代（618-906）の僧侶・道宣（596-667）は、同時代の僧侶・玄奘（602-664）がインドから中国にもたらした経典の翻訳にも携わりました。759年に唐招提寺の初代住職となり、日本における律宗の拠点を確立した鑑真は、道宣の孫弟子です。続く四代の住職は、いずれも日本国外の出身でありました。
唐招提寺、下野薬師寺（栃木県）、観世音寺（福岡県）の創建を経て、律宗は大いに栄えました。しかし、12世紀に入り宗派そのものが衰退へと追いやられると、鑑真の没後350年が経った頃には唐招提寺も荒廃が進み、やがて律宗の授戒も見られなくなります。
12世紀後半には律宗を復興させようとする試みが生まれましたが、以前のような隆盛を取り戻すことはできませんでした。明治維新（1861）に伴い封建制が崩壊し、王政復古が宣言されると、律宗は政府の通達により真言宗に組み込まれました。律宗が唐招提寺を総本山とし、独立を果たすのは1900年のことでした。
Risshu School
The Risshu (or Ritsu) school is one of the “Six Buddhist Schools of Nara” (Nanto Rokushu). One of its main characteristics is study of the foundations of the theory and practice of Buddhism’s monastic precepts (rules for daily life).
Daoxuan (Jp. Dosen; 596–667), a monk of the Tang period (618–906), founded the school in China, where it is known as the Nanshan branch of the Precepts School of Buddhism. Daoxuan also helped translate the Buddhist scriptures brought to China from India by the monk Xuanzang (Jp. Genjo; 602–664).
It was Daoxuan’s disciple, Jianzhen (Jp. Ganjin), who established the school’s principal temple in Japan at Toshodaiji in 759, becoming its first head priest. In fact, the first four generations of head priests were non-Japanese.
Following the establishment of ordination platforms at Toshodaiji, the Shimotsuke-Yakushiji temple in Tochigi Prefecture, and the Kanzeonji temple in Fukuoka Prefecture, the Risshu school prospered significantly. With time, however, it went into decline, largely due to the appeal of other less demanding “instant enlightenment” schools of Buddhism that flourished from the twelfth century on. Records show that some 350 years after Ganjin established Toshodaiji, the temple fell into disrepair and eventually the teachings of the school ceased.
In the twelfth century, temple renovations were made and efforts begun to resurrect the Risshu precepts, but the school never fully regained its former glory. Following the Meiji Restoration (1868), when rule by the warrior class ended and the sovereignty of the court was restored, the Risshu school was brought under the jurisdiction of the Shingon school by governmental decree. This lasted until 1900 when Risshu regained its independence and its headquarters reverted to Toshodaiji.
