Kokan Shiren
Encyclopedia
Kokan Shiren 1278–1347), Japan
ese Rinzai Zen
patriarch and celebrated poet in Chinese
, was the son of an officer of the palace guard and a mother of the aristocratic Minamoto clan
. At age eight he was placed in the charge of the Buddhist priest Hōkaku on Mt. Hiei. At age ten he was ordained there, but later began study with the Zen master Kian at the Nanzenji monastery. Kokan Shiren’s talents came to the attention of the Emperor Kameyama
. At age seventeen he began extensive Chinese studies. Thus began a long career of travel and the establishment of Zen institutions all across Japan. He became abbot at many of the best Zen establishments. At the end of his life, the emperor Gomurakami conferred upon him the title kokushi or National Teacher. Yet in his writings Kokan showed an aloofness from prestige with a striving for inner freedom. The best of his poetry in Chinese dates from late in his life when he had withdrawn from ecclesiastical affairs. His poetry and essays were collected under the title Saihokushū. He is also credited with other contributions to lexography in his lifetime.
Kokan compiled a thirty-chapter Buddhist history, the Genko Shakusho (元亨釈書), the oldest extant account of Buddhism in Japan. The work was completed in the Genko
era, whence the era name in its title.
Kokan studied under the celebrated Chinese monk Yishan Yining. Their relationship can be regarded as the beginning of the golden age of the Literature of the Five Mountains in Japan. He studied calligraphy under an additional Chinese master Huang Shangu. Other works include Japan's first rhymed verse Jubun-in-ryaku in five volumes, Kokan Osho Juzenshiroku in three volumes, and the eighteen-volume Butsugo Shinron. A portrait of Kokan Shiren is in the Kaizoin of the Tofukuji Monastery in Kyoto, Japan.
, bonseki
, bonsai
and related arts is Kokan Shirens rhymeprose essay Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden. Obvious influence can be seen from Chinese Song period literati. Kokan Shiren’s deceptively simple and straightforward narration gave and early voice to what would become a profound cultural transformation in Japan:
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Rinzai Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
patriarch and celebrated poet in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, was the son of an officer of the palace guard and a mother of the aristocratic Minamoto clan
Minamoto clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...
. At age eight he was placed in the charge of the Buddhist priest Hōkaku on Mt. Hiei. At age ten he was ordained there, but later began study with the Zen master Kian at the Nanzenji monastery. Kokan Shiren’s talents came to the attention of the Emperor Kameyama
Emperor Kameyama
was the 90th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1259 through 1274.-Genealogy:...
. At age seventeen he began extensive Chinese studies. Thus began a long career of travel and the establishment of Zen institutions all across Japan. He became abbot at many of the best Zen establishments. At the end of his life, the emperor Gomurakami conferred upon him the title kokushi or National Teacher. Yet in his writings Kokan showed an aloofness from prestige with a striving for inner freedom. The best of his poetry in Chinese dates from late in his life when he had withdrawn from ecclesiastical affairs. His poetry and essays were collected under the title Saihokushū. He is also credited with other contributions to lexography in his lifetime.
Kokan compiled a thirty-chapter Buddhist history, the Genko Shakusho (元亨釈書), the oldest extant account of Buddhism in Japan. The work was completed in the Genko
Genko
Genkō was a Japanese era name of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Gentoku and before Kemmu. This period spanned the years from August 1331 through January 1334...
era, whence the era name in its title.
Kokan studied under the celebrated Chinese monk Yishan Yining. Their relationship can be regarded as the beginning of the golden age of the Literature of the Five Mountains in Japan. He studied calligraphy under an additional Chinese master Huang Shangu. Other works include Japan's first rhymed verse Jubun-in-ryaku in five volumes, Kokan Osho Juzenshiroku in three volumes, and the eighteen-volume Butsugo Shinron. A portrait of Kokan Shiren is in the Kaizoin of the Tofukuji Monastery in Kyoto, Japan.
Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden
Of great interest for the development of the Japanese gardenJapanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
, bonseki
Bonseki
Bonseki is the ancient Japanese art of creating miniature landscapes on black lacquer trays using white sand, pebbles, and small rocks. Small delicate tools are used in Bonseki such as feathers, small flax brooms, sifters, spoons and wood wedges. The trays are either oval or rectangular, measuring...
, bonsai
Bonsai
is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
and related arts is Kokan Shirens rhymeprose essay Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden. Obvious influence can be seen from Chinese Song period literati. Kokan Shiren’s deceptively simple and straightforward narration gave and early voice to what would become a profound cultural transformation in Japan: