Joto (常騰)
Joto (740 - October 13, 815) was a Buddhist priest who lived from the Nara period to the beginning of the Heian period. His secular surname was Takahashi. He was born in Kyoto.
Joto became a gakuso (scholar monk) of Daian-ji Temple, and later he studied at Kofuku-ji Temple under Yogen concerning the dharmalogy of the Hosso study. Subsequently, he moved to Saidai-ji Temple (Nara City). In 803, he was assigned as both the betto (chief monk of the temple) of Bonshaku-ji Temple and the kengyo (administrator) of Sofuku-ji Temple, but in June 805, he was assigned as the risshi (the third priestly ranking after sojo and sozu), and in September he was assigned as the shosozu (priest, junior second rank). It is thought that he was a gifted student of Buddhist theory, and he provided commentaries for the 63 volumes of Kyoron (Buddhist sutras and explanations).