Gentō Sokuchū () was a

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngsh� ...

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

priest and the 50th abbot of

Eihei-ji 250px is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity). Eihei-ji is located about east of Fukui in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. In E ...

, the school's head temple. He was part of a 17th and 18th century movement within the Sōtō school that sought to bring the school's teachings back in line with those of the 13th century founding teacher,

Dōgen Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), or Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師), was a J ...

.Foulk, p. 56 To this end, he edited major editions of works by Dōgen and succeeded in disseminating them widely. He is best remembered for compiling the ''Eihei Rules of Purity'' (''Eihei Shingi''), a collection of writings by Dōgen laying out a strict code of conduct for monks. These rules had been largely unheeded in the school in the preceding several centuries, and Gentō used his high position as abbot of

to reintroduce and enforce them. His work on the ''Eihei Rules of Purity'' was completed in 1794 while he was serving as the eleventh abbot of Entsū-ji.Heine, p. 245 The following year he became the 50th abbot of Eihei-ji. He was also involved in editing Dōgen's master work, the ''

Shōbōgenzō is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...

''.Leighton, p. 22 In addition to his efforts on monastic rules, he also sought to remove what he perceived to be non-Sōtō elements within the school. He de-emphasized the use of

koan A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen. Etymology The Japanese term is the Sino-J ...

s due to their apparent historical association with the competing

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan ...

school. In 1796 he also had the sangha hall (''sōdō'', 僧堂) at Eihei-ji rebuilt in imitation of the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

structures that Dōgen had described.Foulk, p. 57 The previous building, dating from only fifty years earlier, was built in a

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

style based on temples of the recently introduced

Ōbaku The is one of several schools of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, in addition to Sōtō and Rinzai. History Often termed the third sect of Zen Buddhism in Japan, Ōbaku-shū was established in 1661 by a small faction of masters from China and their ...

school. Gentō's former student at Entsū-ji was the famous wandering monk

Ryōkan (1758 – 6 January 1831) was a quiet and unconventional Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit. Ryōkan is remembered for his poetry and calligraphy, which present the essence of Zen life. He is also known by the name ...

. The Buddhist scholar Michel Mohr suggests that Gentō's fanaticism for 'purifying' the Sōtō school probably informed Ryōkan's decision to become an itinerant monk without an association to any temple.

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