Nanpo Shōmyō ( Japanese: なんぽしょうみょう,

Kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

: 南浦紹明; 1235 – 9 February 1309), imperial name Entsū Daiō Kokushi, was a Japanese

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

monk of

Rinzai school The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school, Linji s ...

during the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

, and the founder of the

Ōtōkan The is a Lineage (Buddhism), lineage of the Rinzai school of Zen (a form of Japanese Buddhism). It was founded by Nanpo Shōmyō (1235–1308), who received dharma-transmission in China in 1265 from Xutang Zhiyu. It is centered at the temple com ...

-lineage. Although his exact origin is unknown, he is from Inomiya village, Abe District, Shizuoka (now Inomiya-chō,

Aoi-ku, Shizuoka is one of three wards of the city of Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, located in the northern part of the city. Aoi-ku borders Suruga-ku in the south and Shimizu-ku to the southeast; the west faces Shimada, Fujieda and Kawanehon a ...

). Shōmyō is his

true name A true name is a name of a thing or being that expresses, or is somehow identical to, its true nature. The notion that language, or some specific sacred language, refers to things by their true names has been central to philosophical study as we ...

(also "Jyōmin"), Nampo is his

Dharma name A Dharma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and Pabbajjā, monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The name is ...

Life

Nanpo Shōmyō grew up and studied at his hometown's temple, Takyō-ji. In 1249 he began studying Zen under

Lanxi Daolong Lanxi Daolong ( zh, t=蘭溪道隆, s=兰溪道隆, first=t, p=Lánxī Dàolóng, w=Lan-hsi Tao-long; ; c. 1213–1278), born in Sichuan Province, China in 1213 A.D. (Southern Song dynasty), was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, ideali ...

at Kenchō-ji. In 1259 he traveled to Song China and received dharma-transmission from the monk Xutang Zhiyu (Kidō Chigu). In 1267 he returned to Japan and Kenchō-ji, staying until 1270, when he moved Kōtoku-ji in

Chikuzen Province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyūshū, corresponding to part of north and western Fukuoka Prefecture. Chikuzen bordered on Hizen to the east, and Buzen east, and Bungo to the southeast. Its abbreviated form name was (a ...

. In 1272 years he became the chief priest at Sōfuku-ji. In 1304, at the invitation of

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 litera ...

, he entered

Manju-ji is a Rinzai Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Higashiyama-ku Kyoto, Japan. Owing to the influence of the Ashikaga, Manju-ji was designated a Jissatsu temple for a time. At present, it is a sub-temple of Tōfuku-ji. It is considered to ...

. In 1307 he returned to Kenchō-ji. He died at the age of 75 in 1309. He was the master of Kyōō Unryō and Shūhō Hyōchō. In December 1309, Emperor Go-Uda awarded him the Kokushi name of "Entsū Daiō", which is the beginning of Zen monks receiving the Kokushi name in Japan. Following him, Shūhō Hyōchō received Daitō Kokushi and then Kanzan Egen received Muso Daishi. The names of the three monks formed the Ōtōkan lineage.What is Zen? - History: The Transmission of Zen to Japan
Official Website of Rinzai and Ōbaku Zen

Historical landmark

Nanpo Shōmyō's birthplace in now Inomiya-chō, Aoi-ku, Shizuokain Shoichi has a hot water well that is now a Cultural Property of Shizuoka City known as "Daiō Kokushi Well".

Biography

* Araki, Kengo 荒木見悟, (1994). ''Daiō : Goroku''. Tōkyō: Kōdansha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanpo Shomyo 1235 births 1309 deaths Japanese Zen Buddhists Buddhist clergy of the Kamakura period Rinzai Buddhists