Honen Tomoiki

平成23年の宗祖法然上人800年大遠忌のロゴ。「法然共生」の四文字に「ともいき」の仮名文字が現れ「ほうねんともいき」と読まれます。中世日本の民衆に仏教を開放し、念仏によって救われる上人の教えがよみがえります。23年以降もロゴは継続して展開されています。

In preparation for the 800th anniversary commemoration of the death of Honen Shonin, founder of the Jodo (Pure Land) sect of Buddhism, which is to take place in 2011, we developed a symbol to promote the project. In the logo, one can find the phonetic characters “tomoiki” incorporated within the Chinese characters that read “Honen Tomoiki” (harmonious coexistence of all people, preached by Honen). The word “tomoiki” conjures up in us the ideas preached by Honen, who taught that one can be saved by reciting the mantra, “Namu Amida Butsu” (the Amida prayer). This helped spread Buddhism widely throughout the common class in medieval Japan, making a great impact on Japanese Buddhism. “Tomoiki” revives Honen’s spirit in the modern era.

为了2011年的开山祖法然上人800年的大忌日，开发了活性化事业核心的符号。“法然共生”的其中出现“共生”的假名，读成“tomoiki”，令人联想到上人的教诲。只要唱念“南无阿弥陀佛”就能得救的教诲，向日本中世纪的普通民众开放了佛教，对日本佛教的存在给予了很大影响。法然上人的心灵如今又通过“共生”这个字在现代复苏。