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四箇法要

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: four essentials of a Buddhist ceremony

Senses:

  • Often rendered as “Four shōmyō melodies.” Shika hōyō is a ritual sequence consisting of four shōmyō pieces that are often sung at the beginning of the ritual. It is used in exoteric rituals. The four pieces are nyoraibai 如來唄, sange 散華, bonnon 梵音, and shakujō 錫杖. These belong to the oldest Buddhist chants in Japan and were already performed at the Eye Opening Ceremony of the Great Buddha of Tōdaiji 東大寺 in 752. In the Heian period, these pieces were often performed together with dances to instrumental music (bugaku 舞樂). One of the most famous examples of this style of performance is the Jōrakue 常樂會 at Kōfukuji 興福寺. During kōshiki in the Kamakura period, this was often the first ritual sequence chanted. Also known under the term hōyō 法用. [Michaela Mross, Charles Muller; source(s): JEBD, Ui, Nakamura, FGD, 聲明辭典, 佛教音樂辭典]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 394

    Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 278a/308

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 509c

    Fo Guang Dictionary 1827

    Ding Fubao {Digital Version}

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)1734b,1495c

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 687-3

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2014-08-21

    Updated: 2014-10-08