Shinzei ［真済］ (800–860): A priest of the True Word (Shingon) school in Japan. He renounced secular life in childhood and became a disciple of Kōbō (also known as Kūkai), the founder of the True Word school. In 824 he was granted the position of ajari ( āchārya), which qualifies one to transmit the secret doctrines of True Word. After Kōbō’s death, he took full responsibility for Jingo-ji temple on Mount Takao. Shinzei set out for China to further his studies, but his ship was wrecked by a storm and he returned to Jingo-ji. In 856 he was appointed administrator of priests, the first True Word priest to receive that title. He wrote The Life of the Supervisor of Priests Kūkai. He also collected Kōbō’s writings, including prose and poetry, and compiled The Collected Works of the Universally Illuminating Soul-Inspiring One.