Ensho (a priest) (延昌 (僧))
Ensho (880 - March 6, 964) was a priest of the Tendai Sect in the middle of the Heian period. He was born in Enuma-gun County, Kaga Province. His shigo (a posthumous name) was Jinen.
He became a priest in his childhood, and went to Mt. Hiei to study Exoteric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism under Gensho, a pupil of Enjin. He received religious precepts from Choi. It is believed that he later read aloud Sonsho Dharani (Buddha-Crown Superb Victory Dharani) every day and prayed for the realization of paradise by chanting Amida-san (praise of Amida) with invited priests on the 15th of each month. He served as ajari (high-ranking priest instructing monks practicing asceticism) of Hossho-ji Temple in 935, zasu (chief priest) of Hossho-ji Temple in 939, naikubu-juzenshi (one of the ten selected excellent priests for a Buddhist service in the Imperial Court) in 940, risshi (Buddhist priest) in 945 and Tendai-zasu (head priest of the Tendai sect) in 946 before he became sojo (a Buddhist high priest) in 958. When Emperor Suzaku and Emperor Murakami both became believers in Buddhism, he served as their mentor.