Japanese poet Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in t ...

, occupies a prominent place in

Japanese Literature of the Five Mountains The Gozan Bungaku or literature of the Five Mountains (Japanese: 五山文学) is the literature produced by the principal Zen (禅) monastic centers of in Kyoto and Kamakura, Japan. The term also refers to five Zen centers in China in Hangzhou a ...

, literature in Chinese written in Japan. Chugan's achievement was his mastery of this difficult medium, a signal of the ripening of Five Mountains poetry and prose in Japan. He was born 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 ...

of a family that claimed descent from

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the s ...

(r. 781–806). At age eight he entered the prestigious monetary of the Zen Rinzai sect in Kamakura as an acolyte. At twelve he was a disciple of Dokei. At this time Chugan began in earnest his Chinese studies, devoting himself to the ''Classic of Filial Piety'' and ''

Analects The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...

''. He left for Kyushu hoping to travel to China, but did not succeed. After this disappointment he traveled to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

and met the reclusive patriarch

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 ...

(1278–1346). In 1320 he realized his hopes for a journey to China that resulted in a seven-year study-tour of Zen masters and institutions. In 1332 Chugan returned in disgust to a Japan wracked by civil war and unrest. He chose for his residence the

Nanzenji monastery , 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 o ...

in Kyoto. In 1339 he was asked to establish the Kisshoji monastery. From this point until his death in 1375 he was residing as head of many of the Zen establishments in Japan. His writings reflect both a

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

concern with social values and a Zen love of the ironic and iconoclastic.

Books

Articles

Carpenter, Bruce E., "Clarity and Irony: Chugan Engetsu" in ''Tezukayama University Review'' (Tezukayama daigaku ronshū), no. 19, 1978, Tezukayama University, Nara, Japan, pp. 1–14. ISSN 0385-7743 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chugan, Engetsu 1300 births 1375 deaths Rinzai Buddhists 14th-century Japanese poets Kamakura period Buddhist clergy