Hyechong

{{other uses|ESO (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox Chinese

| title = Hyechong

| kanji = 慧灌 or 惠聰

| hiragana = えそう

| revhep = Esō

| hangul = 혜총

| hanja = 慧灌 or 惠聰

| rr = Hyechong

| mr = Hyech'ong

| ibox-order = ja, ko1}}

Hyechong also known as Esō was a Buddhist monk from Baekje who travelled to Japan in the Asuka period to transmit Buddhism.{{cite book|last1=Kasahara |first1=Kazuo |last2=McCarthy |first2=Paul |last3=Sekimori |first3=Gaynor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GfUQAQAAIAAJ&q=Hyechong |title=A History of Japanese religion |page=57 |quote=As soon as the temple was completed, in 596, the priest Hyechong, who had arrived from Paekche the previous year, too up residence there. Thus Paekche's influence on Asuka Buddhism was immense; indeed, Asuka Buddhism can be regarded as a branch of Paekche Buddhism|isbn=4-333-01917-6 |publisher=Kosei Pub.|year=2001}}

Traveling to Japan in 595 (the 3rd year of Empress Suiko), he preached Buddhism. When {{nihongo|Hōkō-ji|法興寺|Hōkō temple}}, which is now {{nihongo|Ango-in|安居院|}} or {{nihongo|Asuka-dera|飛鳥寺|Asuka temple}} was completed in 596, the monk lived with the priest Eji from Goguryeo, and together they were called {{nihongo|"Sanpō no Tōryō"|三宝の棟梁|"The leaders of three treasures"}}.Nihon Shoki, volumes 22, Story of Suiko. {{cite web |url=http://applepig.idv.tw/kuon/furu/text/syoki/syoki22_1.htm |title=新編 日本書紀 卷廿二 推古天皇 豐御食炊屋姬天皇 |accessdate=2010-07-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615030948/http://applepig.idv.tw/kuon/furu/text/syoki/syoki22_1.htm |archivedate=2008-06-15 }}