Kakua

A monk at Mount Hiei in the late Heian period. His secular surname was Fujiwara. He introduced Chinese Song Dynasty Zen to Japan earlier than Eisai. After becoming a monk, he studied Buddhism, but hearing that Zen was popular in the Southern Song, he went to Song in 1171 (Shoan 1) and visited Xiantang Huiyuan (1103-1176) at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou (Zhejiang Province). He was enlightened by hearing the sound of drums on the banks of the Yangtze River, and the verses he presented to Huiyuan are included in the "Katai Puteng Lu" and "Goto Egen," the only Japanese to do so. After returning to Japan, he took up residence in a hermitage on Mount Hiei, but when he was summoned by Emperor Takakura and questioned about the fundamentals of Zen, he answered by playing the flute, but his answer was not understood. Feeling that the time was not right, he returned to Mount Hiei once again, and never again went out into the world.

[Yoshinobu Nakao, June 20, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安末期の叡山(えいざん)の僧。俗姓は藤原氏。栄西(えいさい)より早く中国の宋朝禅(そうちょうぜん)を日本へ伝えた。出家後に教学を学んだが、南宋で禅が盛んなことを聞き、1171年（承安1）入宋(にっそう)し、杭州(こうしゅう)（浙江(せっこう)省）霊隠寺(りんにんじ)の瞎堂慧遠(かつどうえおん)（1103―1176）に参じた。長江の岸で鼓声を聞いて大悟し、慧遠に呈した偈(げ)が、日本人としてはただ一人、『嘉泰普燈録(かたいふとうろく)』『五燈会元(ごとうえげん)』に収められている。帰朝後は叡山に庵居(あんきょ)したが、高倉(たかくら)天皇に召されて禅要を問われたとき、笛を吹いて答えたものの理解されず、時機未熟なることを感じて、ふたたび叡山に帰り、以後世間へ出ることはなかった。

［中尾良信　2017年6月20日］

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