Kūya
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Kūya was an itinerant Japanese hijiri, later ordained in the Tendai sect, who was an early proselytizer of the practice of the nembutsu amongst the populace. Kūya's efforts helped promote Pure Land Bu
Statue of Kūya by Kōshō, son of Unkei, at Rokuharamitsu-ji (六波羅蜜寺), Kyoto, dating to the first decade of the thirteenth century and an Important Cultural Property. The six Chinese characters of the nembutsu, 南無阿弥陀仏 (na-mu-a-mi-da-butsu), are represented by six small figures of Amitābha streaming from Kūya's mouth. He walks as if on a pilgrimage, holding a staff topped with an antler and striking a gong. Similar statues, all of the Kamakura period and Important Cultural Properties, may be found at
Nianfo
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Nianfo is a Buddhist practice central to East Asian Buddhism. The Chinese term nianfo is a translation of Sanskrit buddhānusmṛti, a classic Buddhist mindfulness practice.
Kūya
…903–972) was an itinerant Japanese hijiri (ascetic, 聖), later ordained in the Tendai sect, who was an early proselytizer of the practice of the nembutsu amongst the populace. Kūya's efforts helped promote Pure Land Buddhism to the capital at a time when the movement was first gaining traction in Japan…
Chinese Nianfo carving
The Nembutsu in Chinese characters and the five-syllable mantra (aḥ vi ra hūṃ khaṃ) of Vairocana in Siddhaṃ script.
Portrait of the Chinese Pure land patriarch Shandao reciting "the nianfo" (Amitabha's name)
The six Chinese characters of the nianfo, resting on a lotus, flanked by Sakyamuni and Amitabha