Jakushitsu Genko

JAPAN, Okayama; Kamakura to Nanbokucho period

Jakushitsu Genko, who was born into the Fujiwara family, was a Zen master of the Rinzai school of Japanese Buddhism. He renounced at age 13 under Mui Shogen of Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto, and later succeeded the teachings of the Dharma under Yakuo Tokken at Kenchoji Temple in Kanagawa.
Jakushitsu traveled to China in 1320 and studied under several masters including Zhongfeng Mingben, Gulin Qingmao, and Qingzhuo Zhengcheng. Among his greatest influences was Master Zhongfeng Mingben, who bestowed him the Dharma name “Jakushitsu.” Upon his return to Japan in 1326, Jakushitsu led an itinerant life, maintaining a low profile for some 25 years in the western region of Honshu. He was later invited in 1361 by Sasaki Ujiyori to Eigenji Temple in Shiga, where he became the abbot and transmitted Zen teachings to over 2000 monks. After his passing at the age of 78, Jakushitsu was honored with the posthumous title of Zen Master Enno.
Jakushitsu’s calligraphy resembles the works of the calligrapher Yan Zhenqing. His brushstrokes are nimble and his scripts are skillfully transcribed in the style of other artists such as Zhao Mengfu and the Chan Master Yishan Yining. Works written by him include Deathbed Testament, a guide to his disciples on cultivation, currently kept at Eigenji Temple in Shiga; and Jakushitsu Genko Shosoku, a letter thought to have been written to a fellow monk at Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto, now kept as an Important Cultural Property in the Kyoto National Museum.