Jōkei (monk)

Jōkei (貞慶) (1155–1213) was an influential Buddhist, scholar-monk and reformer of the Hosso sect in Japan, posthumously known as Gedatsu shōnin (解脱上人, "Liberated Master").

Jokei was a prolific author, asserting and compiling the Hosso/Yogacara doctrine, while simultaneously refuting newer Buddhist movements, particularly the Pure Land movement begun by Honen. Like his contemporary Myoe, Jokei sought to make Buddhism more accessible to the public through the promotion of rebirth to Mount Potalaka, the dwelling of Kannon Bodhisattva, or aspiring for rebirth in the Tusita Heaven where the Bodhisattva Maitreya dwells. Jōkei actively promoted devotion to Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical founder, through devotional practices, access to relics of the Buddha, and promotion of ancient Vinaya monastic code.

Jōkei was born into the prestigious, but rapidly declining Fujiwara Clan at a time when the Taira Clan was gaining ascendancy. Due to his father's and grandfather's involvement with Emperor Go-Shirakawa and the Minamoto Clan, the former was exiled while the latter was killed as depicted in the Tales of the Heike. Jōkei and his siblings took Buddhist tonsure, and Jōkei was admitted to the temple of Kofukuji, the tutelary temple of the Fujiwara, at the age of 11.

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