For, although the Buddhist
canon has been repeatedly imported, copied by the pen and in modern
times printed, yet no Japanese translation has ever been made. The
methods of Buddhism in regard to the circulation of the scriptures are
those, not of Protestantism but of Roman Catholicism.
In the same year, the Mikado called for contributions from all the
people for the building of a colossal image of the Buddha, which was to
be of bronze and gilded. Yet, fearing that the Shint[=o] gods might be
offended, a skilful priest named Giyoku,--probably the same man who
introduced the potter's wheel into Japan,--was sent to the shrine of the
Sun-goddess in Ise to present her with a shari or relic of the Buddha,
and find out how she would regard his project. After seven days and
nights of waiting, the chapel doors flew open and the loud-voiced oracle
was interpreted in a favorable sense. The night following the return of
the priest, the Mikado dreamed that the sun-goddess appeared to him in
her own form and said "The sun is Birushana" (Vairokana). This meant
that the chief deity of the Japanese proclaimed herself an avatar or
incarnation of one of the old Hindu gods.[35] She also approved the
project of the image; and in this same year, 759, native gold was found
in Japan, which sufficed for the gilding of the great idol that, after
eleven hundred years and many vicissitudes, still stands, the glory of a
multitude of pilgrims.
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