Shōmu, Emperor ［聖武天皇］ (701–756) ( Shōmu-tennō): The forty-fifth emperor (r. 724–749) of Japan, who contributed greatly to the prosperity of Buddhism in the country. He was the first son of Emperor Mommu, the forty-second emperor. He had deep faith in the power of Buddhism to safeguard the nation and established a temple and a nunnery in each province of the country. Moreover, he built Tōdai-ji temple in Nara as the center of these provincial temples and nunneries and erected a great image of Vairochana Buddha there.