In A.D. 754 a famous priest, who introduced the new Ritsu Sect, was able
to convert the Mikado and obtain four hundred converts in the imperial
court. Thirteen years later, another tremendous triumph of Buddhism was
scored and a deadly blow at Shint[=o] was struck. The Buddhist priests
persuaded the Mikados to abandon their ancient title of Sumeru and adopt
that of Tenn[)o]; (Heavenly King or Tenshi) Son of Heaven, after the
Chinese fashion. At the same time it was taught that the emperor could
gain great merit and sooner become a Buddha, by retiring from the active
cares of the throne and becoming a monk, with the title of H[=o]-[=o],
or Cloistered Emperor. This innovation had far-reaching consequences,
profoundly altering the status of the Mikado, giving sensualism on the
one hand and priestcraft on the other, their coveted opportunity,
changing the ruler of the nation from an active statesman into a recluse
and the recluse into a pious monk, or a licentious devotee, as the case
might be. It paved the way for the usurpation of the government by the
unscrupulous soldier, "the man on horseback," who was destined to rule
Japan for seven hundred years, while the throne and its occupant were in
the shadow. One of a thousand proofs of the progress of the propaganda
scheme is seen in the removal of the Shint[=o] temple which had stood at
Nikk[=o], and the erection in its place of a Buddhist temple.
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