Jikaku Daishi 毛越寺宝物館 伝慈覚大師

This wooden statue of Ennin (794–864, known posthumously as Jikaku Daishi), the third head abbot of the Tendai sect of Buddhism in Japan, was created in the Edo period (1603–1868). Ennin undertook a nine-year mission to Tang-dynasty China, returning to Japan in 847 with over 500 volumes of Chinese Buddhist literature as well as religious implements. It is believed that he established the Buddhist temples of Mōtsūji and Chūsonji in 850. Ennin brought to Japan a Chinese system of notation for vocal music, and he also introduced the nenbutsu, the practice of chanting the name of Amida Buddha to gain rebirth in the Pure Land. Ennin greatly expanded the following of the Tendai sect and his influence on the development of Buddhism in Japan was felt for centuries.