Yìzūn chāo 異尊抄
Compendium of the Uncommon Honored Ones by 守覺親王 (撰)
About the work
A two-fascicle Shingon ritual compendium by Shukaku Shinnō 守覺親王 (1150–1202), the great imperial-prince-monk of Ninnaji. Where the bulk of late-Heian Shingon ritual literature documents the principal bessen-hō of the standard pantheon, the Yìzūn chāo — “Compendium of the Uncommon Honored Ones” — is devoted specifically to the secondary, infrequently-performed rites. The work’s own opening note explains: “The Master’s word: this honored-one method is paper-thin like a double layer (薄二重) — i.e. rarely-applicable; it differs from the common honored-one methods that are usually not performed. Hence: ‘Uncommon Honored Ones.‘”
Abstract
Authorship and dating: the opening attribution note records a debate: “This is also a composition of Shōken; or, some say, a composition of Shukaku Hōshinnō. My note: since they were master-and-disciple, there is no discrepancy.” (是又勝賢作也云云或云守覺法親王作。私云。師資ナル故ニ何モ無相違云云). The CANWWW database resolves the attribution in favor of Shukaku Shinnō. The composition window is ca. 1170–1202. A copyist’s colophon dates a later transmission to Tenpō 3 (1832), 11th month, 10th day, by Kanjin 寛滲 of the Mugon-zō hermitage.
Doctrinal content: the table of contents lists fifteen “uncommon” deities and rites in fascicle 1: Pratisarā / Protection Sūtra (守護), Jewel-Pavilion (寶樓), Heart Sūtra (心經), Pure-Light Stainless (無垢淨光), Tejas-Prabha (熾盛光), Tārā (多羅), Fragrance King (香王), Nīlakaṇṭha (青頚), Amraja / Mango-grove (阿麽提), World-Sustaining (持世), Prajñāpāramitā (般若), Bhaiṣajya-rāja (藥王), Nāgārjuna (龍樹), Aśvaghoṣa (馬鳴), Sin-Extinguishing (滅惡), Perfect-Round Vajra (圓滿金剛).
For the Protection-Sūtra method (守護經法), the work notes: “This method is for the pacification-and-protection of the state; not seen elsewhere — only here.” The chief deity is Vajra-realm Mahāvairocana (本尊金剛界大日); seed-syllable vaṃ; three-equality-form stūpa. The work then records the alternative-school positions: “Some say: use the jewel as the samaya form — this is the most secret transmission, transmitted by Genun et al. However, the master’s teaching firmly uses the stūpa as the three-equality-form, and this accords with the sūtra’s meaning, so the stūpa is the correct teaching. Jitsuun’s teaching also firmly uses the stūpa as the three-equality-form.” This is a model entry: the work systematically preserves the divergent-school alternatives alongside the lineage-canonical reading, making it an exceptional document for the comparative study of late-Heian Shingon transmission lines.
The closing entries cover offering procedures, prostration formulae, the Four-Wisdom praise, the homa prescriptions, the shitaku (支度) preliminaries, and the kansū (卷數) recitation-count.
Translations and research
- No substantial Western-language secondary literature located.
- The work is treated in Brian Ruppert, Jewel in the Ashes (2000), and in the Mikkyō daijiten s.v. Ison-shō 異尊抄.