Kokan Shiren

JAPAN, Kyoto; Kamakura to Nanbokucho period (1185–1392)

Kokan Shiren was also known as Kaizo Osho and was posthumously known as National Master Hongaku (Original Enlightenment). He was a scholar, artist, and a monk of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. Keen on reading at an early age, he was regarded as a Child Manjusri. At the age of eight, he became a disciple of Tozan Tansho at Sanshoji Temple in Kyoto, and at the age of ten, he received full ordination at Enryakuji Temple in Shiga. Thereafter, he traveled around and extensively studied Buddhism, learning for some time under the Chinese monk Yishan Yining, who came to Japan. He is considered Japan’s most profound literati of the Literature of the Five Mountains.
In 1322, Kokan compiled the 30 chapters of Genko Shakusho, Japan’s first comprehensive history of Buddhism, the original manuscript of which is now kept at Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto. Other written works include Record of the Ten Branches of Zen Buddhism. Though he learned his calligraphy from Huang Tingjian, his writings were swift with calm and rounded strokes. Listed as Important Cultural Properties of Japan are his calligraphic works of Dharma Verses with Nakahora Zen Practitioners, collected in the Museum Yamato Bunkakan in Nara, and Certificate for Disciple Dankei Shinryo, now kept at the Idemitsu Museum of Arts in Tokyo. Explanation upon Entering the Academy, a copy of the original work by Hanyu, is kept at Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto.