Jianzhen

Jianzhen
鑒真
Japanese sculpture of Jianzhen in Tōshōdai-ji temple. Nara period, 8th century AD.
Personal
Born	Chunyu (first name unknown) 688 Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
Died	763 (aged 74–75) Tōshōdai-ji, Nara Prefecture, Japan
Religion	Buddhism
Nationality	Chinese
School	Risshū
Lineage	3rd generation
Dharma names	Jianzhen
Organization
Temple	Daming Temple Tōshōdai-ji
Senior posting
Teacher	Zhiman (智滿) Dao'an (道岸)
Students Xiangyan (祥彥) Daoxing (道興) Situo (思托) Fajin (法進)

Jianzhen
Jianzhen Monk Memorial Hall, Daming Temple in Yangzhou, China
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	鑒真
Simplified Chinese	鉴真
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiànzhēn Wade–Giles Chien-chen IPA [tɕjɛ̂n.ʈʂə́n] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gaamjān Jyutping Gaam3-zan1 IPA [kam˧.tsɐn˥]

Ganjin
Golden Hall of Tōshōdai-ji in Nara, Japan
Japanese name
Kanji	鑑真
Transcriptions Romanization Ganjin

Jianzhen (688–763), also known by his Japanese name Ganjin, was a Tang Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times, arriving in the year 753 and founding Tōshōdai-ji in Nara. When he finally succeeded on his sixth attempt, he had lost his eyesight as a result of an infection acquired during his journeys. Jianzhen's life story and voyage are described in the scroll, "The Sea Journey to the East of a Great Bonze from the Tang Dynasty."^[1]