Ingen - Beans

Japanese: 隠元 - いんげん

A Chinese Ming Dynasty Zen monk who came to Japan in the early Edo period. Founder of the Obaku sect. His Buddhist name was Ryuuki. His posthumous names included Fusho Kokushi. Born in Fujian Province. At the age of 21, he set out on a journey to search for his father, who had been missing since childhood. He arrived at the famous Kannon sacred site, Putuo Mountain in the Zhoushan Archipelago, and decided to become a monk. At the age of 29, he shaved his head at Manpukuji Temple (Old Obaku) on Mount Obaku in Fujian Province. He traveled to raise funds and visited various temples, listening to lectures on the Lotus Sutra, the Langgang Sutra, and other texts. From the age of 33, he studied Zen under Mitsuun Engo (1566-1642) of the Rinzai sect. At the age of 42 or 43, he was granted the Dharma succession by Hiin Tsuyo (1593-1661), a disciple of Mitsuun, and in 1637 (the 10th year of the Suzhen era), at the age of 46, he was invited to become the abbot of Koobaku. There he read the entire Tripitaka scriptures, and completed the great restoration of the temple, a long-cherished wish since it was burned down in the Wako Incident in 1555, and also published a collection of Ingen's own sayings. He returned to Koobaku two years after leaving the monastery, and during this time he instructed many monks. However, while he was away from the monastery, in 1644, his native Ming Dynasty was virtually destroyed.

In 1652 (Shoo 1), Ingen received a plea from Itsunen Shoyu (1601-1668, a wise monk) of Kofuku-ji Temple in Nagasaki, and agreed to stay for three years. In 1654, a group of 30 people came to Japan on a ship chartered by Koxinga and arrived in Nagasaki. Kofuku-ji Temple, Fukusai-ji Temple, and Sofuku-ji Temple were the three temples that supported overseas Chinese who had gathered in Nagasaki due to the shogunate's policy of national isolation. Ingen immediately took up residence at Kofuku-ji Temple, and then at Sofuku-ji Temple. This heroic act caused a great stir in the Buddhist world in Japan, especially among Zen monks. Ryukei Shosen (1602-1670) and others made an effort to have Ingen accepted at Myoshinji Temple in Kyoto, but due to strong opposition from Gudo Tosho (1577-1661) and others, he was eventually accepted at Fumonji Temple in Settsu (Osaka Prefecture). In 1658 (Manji 1), he went to Edo and met with Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna, and the following year, 1659, encouraged by Sakai Tadakatsu and others, he decided to stay there permanently, and was given a temple site in Uji, Yamashiro (Kyoto Prefecture) by the shogunate, and in 1661 (Kanbun 1), he founded Obakusan Manpukuji (Shin Obaku), the head temple of his sect. Three years later, he retired, and passed away on April 3, 1669, at the age of 82. Ingen brought with him the late Ming Zen style that incorporated elements of nembutsu and esoteric Buddhism, and everything about Manpuku-ji Temple was Ming-style, from its ceremonies and architecture to the Buddhist statues by the Ming dynasty sculptor Handousei (1637-1670), and Chinese monks continued to reside thereafter. Ingen's writings were highly prized by the shogunate and various feudal lords, and his vast collection of sayings and poems tells of his energetic activities.

[Akihide Sugawara January 19, 2017]

Calligraphy

The calligraphy of Obaku monks such as Ingen played a pioneering role in promoting the Karayo style (a style and school of calligraphy strongly influenced by Chinese calligraphy) that is representative of calligraphy in the Edo period. The powerful calligraphy of the founder Ingen, as well as Mokuan Shoto and Sokuhinyoichi, who were later praised as the "Three Calligraphers of Obaku," spread throughout the country as the sect spread. Ingen is said to have learned calligraphy from Cai Xiang of the Song dynasty, and he was also influenced by his teacher Feiin Tongyong. Ingen's free-spirited calligraphy, which was the product of his constant Zen training, is widely loved by the public due to its high virtue.

[Shoichi Kuboki January 19, 2017]

“Ingen” by Akira Hirakubo (1962/new edition, 1989, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)”

Ingen “Who Awakens the Sky Flower Dream”
Seven-word quatrain. Early Edo period (late 17th century). Artwork section 39.9 x 97.6 cm. Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (Kimura Teizo Collection)

Ingen “Who Awakens the Sky Flower Dream”

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

江戸前期に来朝した中国明(みん)代の禅僧。黄檗(おうばく)宗の祖。法諱(ほうき)は隆琦(りゅうき)。諡号(しごう)は普照(ふしょう)国師など。福建省の生まれ。幼時より行方不明だった父を捜して、21歳のとき旅に出、有名な観音霊場、舟山(しゅうざん)列島の普陀山(ふださん)に至って出家を志した。29歳のとき、福建省黄檗山万福寺(まんぷくじ)（古黄檗）にて剃髪(ていはつ)。勧進(かんじん)の旅をし、また諸寺を訪れ『法華経(ほけきょう)』『楞厳経(りょうごんきょう)』などの講説を聴聞。33歳より臨済(りんざい)宗の密雲円悟(みつうんえんご)（1566―1642）に就いて参禅した。42、43歳のころ密雲下の兄弟子費隠通容(ひいんつうよう)（1593―1661）に印可されて嗣法(しほう)し、1637年（崇禎10）46歳で古黄檗の住持に請(しょう)ぜられた。ここで一切蔵経(いっさいぞうきょう)を閲読、また1555年倭寇(わこう)の変で焼けて以来宿願であった伽藍(がらん)大復興を完成し、さらに隠元自身の語録も出版している。古黄檗を退院して2年後に再住、この間多数の修行僧を指導した。しかし退院中の1644年祖国の明は事実上滅びた。

　1652年（承応1）より長崎・興福寺(こうふくじ)の逸然性融(いつねんしょうゆう)（1601―1668。明僧）らの懇請があり、隠元は3年間の約束でこれに応じ、1654年に一行30名が鄭成功(ていせいこう)の仕立てた船で来日、長崎に着いた。興福寺、福済寺(ふくさいじ)、崇福寺(そうふくじ)の唐三か寺は、幕府の鎖国政策で長崎に集まった華僑(かきょう)の檀那寺(だんなでら)であり、隠元はただちに興福寺、ついで崇福寺に住した。この壮挙は日本の仏教界、とくに禅僧たちに大きな反響をよんだ。龍渓性潜(りゅうけいしょうせん)（1602―1670）らは隠元を京都・妙心寺に迎えようと奔走したが、愚堂東寔(ぐどうとうしょく)（1577―1661）らの反対も強く、結局、摂津（大阪府）普門寺に迎えられた。1658年（万治1）江戸に赴き、将軍徳川家綱(とくがわいえつな)に謁見、翌1659年酒井忠勝(さかいただかつ)らの勧めで永住を決意、幕府から山城(やましろ)（京都府）宇治に寺地を与えられ、1661年（寛文1）一派本山としての黄檗山万福寺（新黄檗）を開創した。3年後に隠退し、寛文(かんぶん)13年4月3日、82歳で示寂。隠元は、念仏と密教的要素を取り込んだ明末の禅風をもたらし、万福寺は、行事、建築、明代の仏師笵道生(はんどうせい)（1637―1670）の仏像など万事が明朝風で、以後の歴住も中国僧が続いた。隠元の書は、幕閣・諸大名などに珍重され、膨大な語録・詩偈集(しげしゅう)は、その精力的な活動を伝えている。

［菅原昭英　2017年1月19日］

書

江戸時代の書を代表する唐様(からよう)（中国書法から強い影響を受けた書風、および流派）の推進に、先駆的な役割を果たしたのが、隠元ら黄檗の僧たちの書であった。開祖の隠元や、後世に「黄檗の三筆」と並び称された木庵性瑫(もくあんしょうとう)、即非如一(そくひにょいち)の雄渾(ゆうこん)な書は、宗派の広がりとともに全国的に伝えられた。隠元は書を、宋(そう)代の蔡襄(さいじょう)に学んだといわれ、また師の費隠通容の影響もみられる。なにものにもとらわれない、のびのびとした書は、隠元の不断の修禅によって生み出されたものであり、その高徳と相まって、世人に広く親しまれている。

［久保木彰一　2017年1月19日］

『平久保章著『隠元』（1962／新装版・1989・吉川弘文館）』

[参照項目] | 黄檗宗 | 興福寺 | 蔡襄 | 崇福寺 | 即非如一 | 万福寺 | 木庵性瑫

隠元『阿誰醒豁空花夢』
七言絶句。江戸時代前期（17世紀後半）　作品部39.9×97.6cm愛知県美術館（木村定三コレクション）">

隠元『阿誰醒豁空花夢』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

<<: Ingenhousz, Jan

>>: Penile cancer