The great temple Zenkoji, located in Nagano Prefecture in the central mountains of Japan, is highly unusual in that it has two parallel sectarian groups: Jodo, headed by an Abbess (Daihongan Ama-shonin) and Tendai, headed by an Abbot (Daikanjin Kanju). At least in theory the Abbess and Abbot are of equal rank, and both preside over their own main temple, where they reside, and a large number of sub-temples of their sect. The ritual center of Zenkoji is the Main Hall (Hondo), which is not affiliated with a specific sect. This bifurcation of religious authority results in a  highly complex schedule for rituals in the Main Hall, designed to accommodate the needs of both the Jodo and Tendai groups.

        Why does Zenkoji have both an Abbess and an Abbot? I believe the best approach to this problem is through an analysis of the legendary accounts of the production of the Living Buddha in India and its subsequent vicissitudes, culminating in its arrival in Nagano. Fundamental to these accounts in structural terms is a male/female pairing. In the case of India, the legends tell us that a wealthy man, Gakkai-choja, had everything he desired with the exception of a child. As an old man, a daughter named Nyoze-hime was born to him, but regrettably she later became sick and died. fortunately Amida Buddha brought Nyoze-hime back to life, and this miracle led to the production of the Amida Triad which later became the Living Buddha of Zenkoji. The key motif of this legend is the father/daughter (=male/female) pair.

        Here I will ignore the Living Buddha's activities in Paekche, and move directly to Japan. After arriving in Japan, the Amida Triad becomes mixed up in the conflict over the acceptance of Buddhism, and after efforts to destroy the triad fail, it is thrown into a canal. Honda Yoshimitsu, the founder of Zenkoji, then brings the Amida Triad to his home in Nagano. The accounts of this stage emphasize the roles of both Yoshimitsu and his wife Yayoi. Gorai Shigeru and other scholars have suggested that the Yoshimitsu-Yayoi pair has very strong shamanistic connotations, indicating the standard format for the reception of oracles. Once more, the female/male pairing is dominant.

        In structural terms, one suspects that the current existence of the Abbot-Abbess pair distantly reflects the earlier shamanistic pairing of Yoshimitsu and Yayoi. There is ample evidence to indicate that oracular practices were pervasive at Zenkoji in earlier times and through the centuries Zenkoji has  received extensive patronage from women. Moreover, the historical data reveal a very large number of female pilgrims. These data suggest that women felt particularly welcome at Zenkoji. I will suggest that a fundamental motivation for this popularity among women was the dual structure of the temple, with both an Abbess and an Abbot. Of course, such a structure inevitably led to tensions, so that in the Edo period the authority of the Abbess was eliminated by the Tokugawa bakufu, only to be restored in the early years of Meiji. Today an Abbess and an Abbot are present, both held in high regard, although the idea that they are ultimately associated with an earlier shamanistic stratum is lost. Even today the two prelates have virtually no contact, although it is amusing to note that they held a summit conference prior to the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, surely a novel basis for ecumenical solidarity.

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