Confucius was useless. To a disciple inquiring, "May I ask about death?" he'd replied, "You do not even understand life. How can you understand death?"

Growing up in rural Shikoku in the late eighth century, a boy destined for greatness rebelled against being trained for distinguished mediocrity. His name was Kukai. We know him better as Kobo Daishi, a title posthumously bestowed, meaning roughly "great Buddhist sage." What could Confucianism teach of life if it shrank from facing death? Was death not universal? Kukai sought — demanded — universal, all-encompassing truth. Nothing less would do.

His life (in this world) spanned the years 774 to 835. The Nara Period (710-794) began its end with a sudden, seemingly arbitrary decision in 784 to move the capital from Nara to the as-yet-unbuilt city of Nagaoka. Still, Nara for years to come remained the cultural center. The culture was Chinese. Nara was Chang'an, the Chinese capital, in miniature. China, to Japan, was civilization itself. The Nara Period meant Chinese-style government ruling an imitation Chinese society uncritically steeped in Chinese art, literature, religion and education. The Nara university taught, naturally, Confucianism. Kukai, scion of the minor nobility, attended. It was the path to a career in the civil service.