Ingen Ryūki () (December 7, 1592 – May 19, 1673) was a Chinese poet, calligrapher, and

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

of Linji Chan Buddhism from China.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ingen" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File
. He is most known for founding the

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 thei ...

school of

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 ...

in Japan.

Biography

Ingen was born on December 7, 1592, in

Fuqing (; Foochow Romanized: Hók-chiăng; also romanized as Hokchia) is a county-level city of Fujian Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou. Geography Fuqing is located in the north-central part ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its c ...

, during China's

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. Ingen's father disappeared when he was five. At age 20, while searching for him, Ingen arrived at

Mount Putuo Mount Putuo (, from Sanskrit: " Mount Potalaka") is an island in Putuo District, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China. It is a renowned site in Chinese Buddhism and is the bodhimaṇḍa of the bodhisattva Guanyin. Mount Putuo is one of the four ...

off

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, where he served tea to monks. At 28, after the death of his mother, he was ordained as a monk at his family temple - Wanfu Temple,

Mount Huangbo Mount Huangbo () is a mountain in Fuqing county of Fujian Province, in the East China region of the People's Republic of China. The mountain is famous for its Buddhist temples, including Wanfu Temple (home of Yinyuan Longqi, founder of the ...

, Fujian. Ingen's teachers there were

Miyun Yuanwu Miyun Yuanwu ( Chinese: 密雲圓悟, pinyin: Mìyún Yuánwù; Japanese: 密雲円悟, Hepburn: Mitsuun Engo; 1566–1642) was a prominent Chinese Chan master of the Linji sect. Born in Changzhou, in modern Jiangsu Province, to a prominent fa ...

and Feiyin Tongrong. In 1633 he received

dharma transmission In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' (''kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha him ...

from the latter, and in 1637 served his first term as abbot. His second term as 33rd abbot of the temple began in 1646 and at this time he is credited with helping Mount Huangbo to develop into a thriving Buddhist centre. In 1654, after repeated requests of

Itsunen Shoyu Itsunen Shoyu (, 1601 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China – 1668 in Nagasaki, Japan) is famous as a Buddhist monk and painter who helped to establish Chan (Zen) in Japan. He was also the third abbot of Kofukuji Temple. In addition to his skill ...

, he went to

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...

, Japan with around 30 monks and artisans, including his disciple Muyan. He founded the Ōbaku school of Zen. He established the Ōbaku head temple Manpuku-ji at

Uji, Kyoto is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its sourc ...

in 1661. On May 21, 1673 (''Enpō 1, 5th day of the 4th month''), he died at Mampuku-ji.

Calligraphy

Ingen was a skilled calligrapher, introducing the Ming style of calligraphy to Japan. Along with his disciples Muyan and Sokuhi Nyoitsu, he was one of the '' Ōbaku no Sanpitsu'' ("Three Brushes of Ōbaku"). He is known to have carried paintings by Chen Xian with him to Japan.

Selected work

Ingen's published writings encompass 35 works in 46 publications in 4 languages and 226 library holdings. WorldCat Identities

隱元 1592-1673
/ref> * 1979 —

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...

.
OCLC 48943301
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du Japon.'' Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 251800045
see also '' Imprimerie Royale de France,'' {{Authority control Qing dynasty Buddhist monks Obaku Buddhists Zen Buddhist abbots 1592 births 1673 deaths Chinese Zen Buddhists Rinzai Buddhists Ming dynasty calligraphers Qing dynasty calligraphers Writers from Fuzhou Artists from Fuzhou Poets from Fujian Qing dynasty poets Chan Buddhist monks Ming dynasty Buddhist monks 17th-century Buddhist monks Chinese tea masters Buddhist artists Edo period Buddhist clergy category:17th-century Chinese calligraphers 17th-century Japanese calligraphers

Biography

Calligraphy

Selected work

See also

Notes

References