Kukai (774-835) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded the Shingon sect. This great scholar's activities extended beyond the domain of the purely religious, including the building of roads, irrigation canals, and temples.

In 794 the city of Heian (modern Kyoto) was founded, replacing the former capital of Nara. The reason for this removal is unclear, but the increasing power of the Nara sects was causing some alarm in government circles by the end of the 8th century. The new capital was suitably distant from the old religious centers, and the founding of new sects to counterbalance any influence the old Nara schools might seek to exert was considered desirable. Thus it was that Saicho established the Tendai sect on Mt. Hiei located to the northeast of the new capital, while Kukai founded the Shingon center on Mt. Koya to the south.

Kukai was born on July 27, 774, the son...