Jokai (定海)

Jokai (year of birth and death unknown) is a priest of Kankiko-ji Temple of the Jishu Sect during the mid Kamakura period. He was a grandson of Michihiro KONO, the feudal lord of Iyo Province, and a cousin (also rumored to be a brother or a nephew) of Ippen. As an apprentice of Taa, who was a disciple of Ippen, Jokai built the Kankiko-ji Temple along the Nishikikoji-dori Street, Kyoto, in 1291. He became the Founder of the Rokujo School, which is one of the Twelve Schools of the Jishu Sect. In 1299, Jokai edited the Twelve-Scrolls of "Ippen Shonin Eden" (the Illustrated Biography of Ippen), and requested Hogen (the second highest rank in the hierarchy of Buddhist priests) Eni to draw illustrations for the scroll. This biography is also known as "Rokujo Engi."

[Original Japanese]