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was a Japanese Zen Buddhist
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 ...
, a
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...
and
diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
in the
Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...
. He was the chief envoy of a 1547 mission sent by the
Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...
to the court of the
Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), Prince of Xing, ...
in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.


Tenryū-ji abbot

Sakugen was a member of the community of monks at
Tenryū-ji , formally known as , is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Buddh ...
before his travels in China from 1538 to 1541 and from 1546 to 1550. He was the vice envoy of the mission which traveled to China in 1541. The trade negotiations proceeded smoothly, and in the leisurely months of his stay, Sakugen spent his time sightseeing, visiting Chinese poets and studying Chinese styles of composition. He would later write several books about his experiences in China.Fogel, Joshua A. (1996)
''The Literature of Travel in the Japanese Rediscovery of China, 1862-1945,'' pp. 31-32.
/ref> In China, Sakugen bought or received as gifts 17 books which were later copied and distributed in Japan.Kornicki, Peter. (1997)
''The Book in Japan: a Cultural History from the Beginning to the Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. 7, p. 288.
/ref> He would be named
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...
of the Tenryū-ji monastery.


Missions to China

The economic benefit of the Sinocentric tribute system was profitable trade. The tally trade (''kangō bōeki'' or ''kanhe maoyi'' in Chinese) involved exchanges of Japanese products for Chinese goods. The Chinese "tally" was a certificate issued by the Ming. The first 100 such tallies were conveyed to Japan in 1404. Only those with this formal proof of Imperial permission represented by the document were officially allowed to travel and trade within the boundaries of China; and only those diplomatic missions presenting authentic tallies were received as legitimate ambassadors.Fogel, Joshua A. (2009)
''Articulating the Sinosphere: Sino-Japanese Relations in Space and Time,'' p. 27


See also

*
Japanese missions to Ming China : Japanese missions to Ming China represent a lens for examining and evaluating the relationships between China and Japan in the 15th through the 17th centuries.Mizuno, Norihito. (2003)''China in Tokugawa Foreign Relations: The Tokugawa Bakufu’s ...


Notes


References

* Fogel, Joshua A. (2009). ''Articulating the Sinosphere: Sino-Japanese Relations in Space and Time.'' 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 ...
. ; * __________. (1996). ''The Literature of Travel in the Japanese Rediscovery of China, 1862-1945.'' Stanford:
Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officiall ...
. ; * Goodrich, Luther Carrington and Zhaoying Fang. (1976)
''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644'' (明代名人傳), Vol. I ''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644'' (明代名人傳), Vol. II.
New York:
Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fi ...
. ; ; * Kornicki, Peter Francis. (1997). ''The Book in Japan: a Cultural History from the Beginning to the Nineteenth Century,'' 7 Volumes. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ; * 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 ...
. ; * Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/ iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran">Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou
Annales des empereurs du Japon.
' Paris: Royal Asiatic Society">Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. * Yoda, Yoshiie. (1996). ''The Foundations of Japan's Modernization: a comparison with China's Path towards Modernization.'' Leiden: Brill Publishers. ; {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakugen, Shuryo Japanese diplomats 1501 births 1579 deaths Rinzai Buddhists Buddhist poets 16th-century Japanese diplomats