noun
Kukai (Buddhist priest)
Refers to the historical Japanese Buddhist monk Kukai (774–835), also known as Kobo Daishi, founder of Shingon Buddhism. The prefix 釈 (shaku) is an honorific title for Buddhist monks.
釈空海は真言宗の開祖として知られている。
Kukai is known as the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism.
弘法大師 is a posthumous title for Kukai, widely used in religious contexts.
The name combines the honorific prefix 釈 (shaku, from Shakyamuni) with 空海 (Kukai), the monk's given name. The exact origin of the name is historical rather than linguistic.