The story begins in 742 AD when Japanese monks Yoei and Fusho visit Jian Zhen, the abbot of Daming Temple in Yangzhou, China, and ask him to help establish Buddhist precepts in their homeland. When his disciples hesitate, Jian Zhen offers to take on the task himself. From 743 AD he attempts to sail to Japan several times, succeeding only on his sixth voyage. By then he has already lost his eyesight, yet he never abandons his aspiration or lets his determination falter. Accompanied by several Chinese artisans and bringing his expertise as a medical practitioner, Jian Zhen makes major contributions to the development of Buddhism in Japan, as well as to its culture, architecture, and traditional Chinese medicine.
