National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Priest Jien (1155 – 1225) is a son of Fujiwara no Tadamichi (1097 – 1164), a kampaku (senior regent) of the late Heian period. As a child, he entered Seirei-in Temple and was ordained as a Buddhist priest under the guidance of Myoun, chief priest of the Tendai sect, in 1167. In 1192, he became the chief priest of the Tendai sect at the age of 38. He assumed the post four times in his life. He is the author of "Gukansho," the very first history book completed by one individual in Japan. He is also well known as a poet and his poems were compiled into an anthology called "Shugyokushu."
This is a written prayer offered to the Hiyoshi Sannogongen in the hope that he would not act dishonorably on his deathbed and represents one of Priest Jien's writings in his later years.