This study examines the source of the words used in the story of Kūkai’s 空海 visit to Enoshima 江の島 in the Manabon 真名本 version of the Enoshima-Engi 江島縁起, and clarifies the significance of this story.
A previous study by Kaneharu Fukushima 福島金治 pointed out the source of several passages. Based on this prior research, a more detailed examination was conducted in the present study. As Fukushima notes, part of Kūkai’s biographical account is largely made up of words from the Shoku-Nihon kōki 続日本後紀, Yuigō Nijūgokajō 遺告二十五箇条, Goshōrai Mokuroku 御請来目録, and so on. However, characteristic descriptions of the circumstances of Kūkai’s birth and the age of his ordination can also be found.
Quotations from the Konkōmyō Saishōōkyō 金光明最勝王経, in addition to the sentences pointed out by Fukushima, are seen in the section describing Kūkai’s visit to Enoshima. The stories of the appearance of the golden dragon, the burying of the wish-fulfilling gem Nyoihōju 如意宝珠, and the creation of a Benzaiten 弁才天 with a width of five fingers 五指量 indicate the author’s intention to link the legends about Kūkai to Enoshima.
We can conclude that the author included Kūkai in the Enoshima-Engi because his anecdotes and images are appropriate for Enoshima, where there is a belief in dragon caves.
