Saicho was at the time a Buddhist priest who represented the Buddhist region of the Heian period, but he was also a Gengakusho (scholar sent to China for a short period) who intended to make a brief inspection of the country.
このとき最澄はすでに平安仏教界を代表する仏者で、短期視察を目的とする還学生（げんがくしょう）であった。