The word "kien no go"

…There are long and short phrases, and in this respect it is closer to prose than verse, and yet in the places where it rhymes it is just like verse, so the third style of writing, which is found only in Chinese, is intermediate between prose and verse, and is hasty in seeking beauty in contrast, and does not aim to reach the meaning of the text. In particular, in the four-six sentences of Zen temples, there is a word called the ``word of opportunity,'' which has two meanings, and the whole sentence revolves around this word of opportunity, and has two meanings, so to speak, forming a sentence of multiple meanings. This four-six sentence is often used in praise of portraits, incense-giving, and in Buddhist texts such as the upper hall, but it is most often used in commentaries and hymns, including the commentaries on entering a temple. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "words of opportunity" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…句には長短があり，こういうところは韻文より散文に近く，しかも押韻するところは韻文そっくりであるので，駢文は散･韻両文の中間的な性格をもつ中国文のみに見られる第三の文体であり，対偶（ついぐう）の美を求めるのに急で，文意を暢達（ちようたつ）することを意図しない。特に禅林の四六文では，〈機縁の語〉というものがあり，表裏二つの意味をもっており，この機縁の語を遶（めぐ）って全文が表･裏両様の意味をもつ，いわば重義的文章をなすのである。この四六文は頂相（ちんそう）の讃や拈香（ねんこう），上堂などの法語に多く用いられるが，最も多く用いられるのは入寺疏（しよ）をはじめとする疏，榜の類においてである。…

※「機縁の語」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報