Yishan Yining (一山一寧, in Japanese: ''Issan Ichinei'') (1247 – 28 November 1317) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to Japan. Before monkhood his family name was Hu. He was born in 1247 in

Linhai Linhai (; Tai-chow dialect: Lin-he) is a county-level city in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province situated on the banks of the Lin River in Eastern China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,114,146 inhabitants even though its built-up (''or met ...

, Taizhou,

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 Jiang ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He was a monk of the

Linji school The Línjì school () is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon. History Song d ...

during the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

of China, and subsequently a

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 E ...

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 ...

master who rose to prominence in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

Japan. He was one of the chief disseminators of Zen Buddhism among the new militarized nobility of Japan, a calligrapher and a writer. Mastering a variety of literary genres and being a prolific teacher, he is mostly remembered as the pioneer of Japanese Gozan Bungaku

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

,Louis-Frédéric, Käthe Roth
Japan encyclopedia.
Harvard University Press, 2005. , Стр. 402 that recreated in Japan the literary forms of

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 ...

Biography

China

Originally from

, Yining became a monk in childhood in Hongfusi monastery (鴻福寺) and took full ordination in Puguangsi Monastery (普光寺). He originally studied

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the ''Lotus Sutra's'' doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (''Ekayāna'') as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy, ...

school, then turning to Chan. After changing a number of tutors, he became the Dharma heir of Wanji Singmi (頑極行彌, Japanese ''Gankyoku Gyomi''), the fourth lineage holder of Mi'an Xianji (1118—1186).The Transmission of Zen to Japan
/ref> Later he became the abbot of Puji Monastery on the Island of

Putuoshan 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 sacr ...

and rose to wide fame as a Buddhist master.

Kamakura

In 1299, during the reign of

Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan Timur, Temur, Temür, Temir or Tömör is a masculine Turkic and Mongolic given name which literally means ''iron''. It is a cognate of the Bosnian and Turkish name Demir. In Indonesian, timur translates to ''east'', and symbolizes hope by ...

, the Yuan government sent him on a diplomatic mission to Japan to restore relations with the

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

government. On arrival at

he was arrested by the regent Hojo Sadatoki on charges of spying. However, soon Sadatoki came to respect his prisoner and set him free. Yishan Yinging stayed in Japan to become one of the major Zen teachers of the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

. In Kamakura, he served in the monasteries of

Kenchō-ji Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai 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 ...

Engaku-ji , or Engaku-ji (円覚寺), is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture to the south of Tokyo. Founde ...

and Jochi-ji (淨智寺).

Kyoto

In 1313 the resigned emperor

Go-Uda was the 91st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1274 through 1287. This 13th-century sovereign was named after the 9th-century Emperor Uda and ''go-'' (後), translates literally ...

invited him to Kyoto to become the abbot of

Nanzen-ji , or Zuiryusan Nanzen-ji, formerly , is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Emperor Kameyama established it in 1291 on the site of his previous detached palace. It is also the headquarters of the Nanzen-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. The precincts ...

, the most influential Zen center of the time. He is still remembered in this monastery today.

Influence

He popularized Zen in the circles of new military aristocracy and, mastering variety of literary genres ranging from historiography to poetry, he started the literary orientation of Japanese monkhood to the standards of

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

literature of China. This added to the standard ''zazen'' practice of Zen monasteries such ordeals as studies in Confucian canon and writings of the Song Confucian scholars. Among his students there werу such key figures of the subsequent development of Zen as Muso Soseki,Deal, William E
Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan.
Oxford University Press US, 2007. , Стр. 38 Sesson Yubai and

Kokan Shiren Kokan Shiren ( Japanese: こかんしれん, Kanji: 虎関師錬; 9 May 1278 – 11 August 1347), Japanese Rinzai Zen patriarch and celebrated poet. He preached Buddhism at the Imperial court, and was noted for his poetry in the Literature of the ...

Death

Yishan Yining committed suicide in 1317 after several attempts to resign from the duties of abbot on grounds of severe illness. The Japanese Imperial Court granted him the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

of the Teacher of State (国師 Kokushi).

Bibliography

*『一山国師語録』 (Recorded Sayings of National Instructor Issаn)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yining, Yishan Japanese poets 13th-century Chinese calligraphers 14th-century Japanese calligraphers 14th-century Chinese calligraphers Zen Buddhist abbots Rinzai Buddhists Yuan dynasty poets 13th-century Buddhist monks 14th-century Buddhist monks People of Kamakura-period Japan 1247 births 1317 deaths Song dynasty Buddhist monks Writers from Taizhou, Zhejiang Poets from Zhejiang Yuan dynasty diplomats Yuan dynasty Buddhist monks Artists from Zhejiang Kamakura period Buddhist clergy