Ikkyu Sojun

A Rinzai sect monk in the mid-Muromachi period. His given name was Sojun, and he was also written as Sojun. He was also known by the names Kyounshi, Katsuro, and Mukei. He is said to be the illegitimate son of Emperor Gokomatsu, and at the age of six he became a servant boy at Ankoku-ji Temple in Kyoto, where he was called Shuken. At the age of 17, he studied under Ken'o (?-1415) at Saikoji Temple, and became a disciple of Kaso Sodon (1352-1428), a high-ranking monk at Daitoku-ji Temple who lived in seclusion in Katata, Omi (Shiga Prefecture), where he was given the name Ikkyu. After his teacher's death, Ikkyu traveled from place to place without settling down, but when the Onin War broke out in 1467 (Onin 1), he fled the flames of war and took up residence at Shuon-an in Yamashiro Takigi (Kyotanabe City, Kyoto Prefecture). In 1474 (Bunmei 6), after the Onin War had subsided, he was appointed the 47th abbot of Daitoku-ji by imperial decree and devoted himself to restoring the ruined temple buildings. He passed away at Shuon-an on November 21, Bunmei 13. Outside the Gozan school of Zen, which had already become the official philosophy of the shogunate at the time, Ikkyu considered himself the sole orthodox figure of Japanese Zen, and used his own original Chinese poetry and prose to sing the essence of Zen in an artistic way. He also traced the lineage of Daito Kokushi (Shuho Myocho), the founder of Daitokuji Temple, and admired Kido Chigu, who had brought a solitary sect to the Southern Song Zen temple in China, calling himself his reincarnation. He called himself "Kyouunshi" (Mad Cloud Boy), and rejected formality and discipline, behaving in a free and unrestrained manner and acting eccentrically. His behavior was a sharp irony and a rebellion against the formalized and secularized Rinzai sect of the time. In his later years, he fell in love with a beautiful blind woman named Mori Shinjisha (date of birth and death unknown), and wrote candid poems about his love for her. However, there are still many mysteries between his real life and his literary fiction. His thorough rejection of worldly beliefs and satirical spirit won the sympathy of later generations, and he published works such as "Ikkyu Banashi" and "Ikkyu Tonchidan," which became popular among children. His collection of poems, "Kyouunshu," is famous. He is also said to have written "Ikkyu Hogo" and "Bukkigun." His graves are located at Shinjuan and Shuonan in Daitokuji Temple, and both contain life-size wooden statues of him.

[Yanagita Seizan May 19, 2017]

"Different Schools of Zen" by Akizuki Ryumin (included in "Japanese Buddhism 12", 1967, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Ikkyu" by Ichikawa Hakugen (1970, Japan Broadcasting Publishing Association)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

室町中期の臨済(りんざい)宗の僧。宗純は諱(いみな)で、宗順とも書く。狂雲子(きょううんし)、瞎驢(かつろ)、夢閨(むけい)などと号した。後小松(ごこまつ)天皇の落胤(らくいん)ともいわれ、6歳で京都安国寺の侍童となり、周建(しゅうけん)とよばれた。17歳で西金寺(さいこんじ)の謙翁（？―1415）に参学、大徳寺の高僧で、近江(おうみ)（滋賀県）堅田(かたた)に隠栖(いんせい)する華叟宗曇(かそうそうどん)（1352―1428）の弟子となって修行、一休の号を授かった。師の没後は定住することなく各地を雲遊したが、1467年（応仁1）応仁(おうにん)の乱が起こると戦火を避けて山城薪(やましろたきぎ)（京都府京田辺(きょうたなべ)市）の酬恩庵(しゅうおんあん)に寓(ぐう)した。応仁の乱が鎮まった1474年（文明6）勅命によって大徳寺の第47代住持となり、荒廃した伽藍(がらん)の再興に尽くした。文明(ぶんめい)13年11月21日、酬恩庵で示寂。一休は、当時すでに幕府の御用哲学と化していた五山派の禅の外にあって、ひとり日本禅の正統を自任し、独自の漢詩文を駆使して禅の本質を芸術性豊かに歌い上げた。また大徳寺開山、大燈(だいとう)国師（宗峰妙超(しゅうほうみょうちょう)）の法流をさかのぼることによって、中国の南宋(そう)禅林に孤高の宗風を振るった虚堂智愚(きどうちぐ)に私淑し、自らその再来と称した。彼は自らを「狂雲子」と号し、形式や規律を否定して自由奔放な言動や奇行をなしたが、その姿は当時の形式化、世俗化した臨済の宗風に対する反抗、痛烈な皮肉であったといえよう。晩年には森侍者(しんじしゃ)（生没年不詳）という盲目の美女を愛し、その愛情を赤裸々に詩文に詠んでいる。しかし、その実人生と文学的虚構の間にはいまなお多くの謎(なぞ)を残している。その徹底した俗心否定と風刺の精神は後世に共感を得、『一休咄(ばなし)』『一休頓智談(とんちだん)』などが上梓(じょうし)され、子供にも親しまれるようになった。詩偈(しげ)集『狂雲集』は著名。ほかに『一休法語』や『仏鬼軍』も彼の作とされる。大徳寺真珠庵と酬恩庵に墓があり、ともに自刻等身の木像が安置されている。

［柳田聖山　2017年5月19日］

『秋月龍珉著『禅門の異流』（『日本の仏教12』所収・1967・筑摩書房）』▽『市川白弦著『一休』（1970・日本放送出版協会）』

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