Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Pure Land Practice in Heian Period Japanese Literature

Japanese Pure Land Buddhism has often been approached through the lens of Kamakura (1192–1333) doctrinal developments, emphasizing the emergence of an exclusive nenbutsu practice. In this article we reconsider pre-Kamakura Pure Land belief by examining setsuwa literature from the Heian period (794–1192) and focus predominantly on narratives with appearances of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. With analysis of kōsōden, ōjōden, and Buddhist setsuwa collections such as the Hokke genki and the Konjaku monogatarishū, the study demonstrates that aspirations for rebirth in a Pure Land were embedded within a broader religious framework with prevalent practices such as Lotus Sutra devotion and repentance rituals. The figure of Samantabhadra emerges as the protector of Lotus practitioners, as a key ritual and narrative agent associated with the removal of karmic hindrances, primarily through repentance. The co-existence of Lotus Sutra devotion, repentance, and Pure Land practices such as the nenbutsu in these narratives reveals a plural and non-exclusive formation of pre-sectarian Pure Land belief.