Who was this person?
A Rinzai Zen monk of the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. Born in Izushi in Tajima, he trained at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto and elsewhere. He protested to the shogunate in the Purple Robe Incident and was exiled to Kaminoyama in Dewa, but was later pardoned, won the deep trust of the third shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, and founded Tōkai-ji at Shinagawa in Edo. A well-known theory links his name to takuan pickles.
| Name | Takuan Sōhō (沢庵宗彭) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1573 – 1646 |
| Period | Azuchi-Momoyama–Edo |
| Birthplace | Izushi, Tajima Province |
| Main achievements |
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He was born in Izushi in Tajima, the second son of Akiba Tsunenori. His father was a senior retainer of the Yamana clan, rulers of Tajima. But when he was small, the Yamana were destroyed by Hashiba Hideyoshi acting on Oda Nobunaga's orders, and his father became a masterless samurai. He spent his boyhood amid this great change in his family's fortunes.
At the age of ten he became a monk at Shōnen-ji in Izushi and received the name Shun'ō. For the son of a family that had lost its lord, the temple was also a way to gain learning and make a life. The path of Takuan, who later lived without seeking fame or gain, began here.
He entered Sukyō-ji, also in Izushi, studied under Kisen Seidō, and took the name Shūki. After his teacher died, he studied under Kunpo Sōchū, whom the lord of Izushi Castle, Maeno Nagayasu, had invited from Daitoku-ji. This meeting later led him on to Daitoku-ji in Kyoto.
When his teacher Kunpo became abbot of Daitoku-ji and went up to Kyoto, Takuan entered Daitoku-ji with him. At its subtemple Sangen-in he studied under the eminent monk Shun'oku Sōen and took the name Sōhō. Daitoku-ji was closely tied to the tea ceremony, and many lords and men of culture came and went there.
Since the year before, he had been with his teacher at a temple Ishida Mitsunari had built inside Sawayama Castle. When the castle fell after the Battle of Sekigahara, they escaped and fled to Shun'oku. With Shun'oku he took in the body of the executed Mitsunari, buried it at Sangen-in, and mourned him with great care.
Training under Ittō Shōteki at Nanshū-ji in Sakai, he at last attained great enlightenment and received the name Takuan. It is said that in a dialogue with his former teacher Shun'oku, his quick and apt answers won praise. He was also known as a gifted speaker who explained Zen clearly with familiar examples.
He was installed as the 153rd abbot of Daitoku-ji, an honored position. But Takuan, who sought neither fame nor profit, left the temple after only three days and returned to Sakai. It is said that he later declined every invitation from the Toyotomi house and many lords such as Hosokawa Tadaoki and Kuroda Nagamasa.
He returned to his home town of Izushi, built a hermitage at Sukyō-ji, which the domain lord Koide Yoshihide had restored, named it Tōenken, and entered a quiet life. It is said he suffered from depression around this time. Fond of poetry, he associated with Hosokawa Yūsai and the noble Karasumaru Mitsuhiro and asked them to correct his verses.
The shogunate annulled the emperor's grants of purple robes to eminent monks as breaking its rules. In protest Takuan went up to Kyoto and, with monks of Daitoku-ji and Myōshin-ji, wrote a statement of objection and submitted it to the shogunate. He later reportedly said that he alone had written it, so he alone should be punished.
After a hearing at Edo Castle he was found guilty and exiled to Kaminoyama in Dewa. But Toki Yoriyuki, lord of Kaminoyama, was moved by Takuan's refusal to bow to power, gave him a hermitage and treated him warmly. Takuan named it Harusame-an and loved it, and was even consulted on the domain's government.
When the Ōgosho Tokugawa Hidetada died a general amnesty was issued, and with the efforts of Tenkai, Yagyū Munenori and others, the monks punished in the Purple Robe Incident were pardoned. Takuan went to Edo and stayed for a time at the residence of the lord Hori Naoyori. He and Yagyū Munenori had been close since youth, sometimes admonishing and sometimes relying on each other.
He met the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, won his deep trust, and was asked to stay in Edo and teach Zen at his side. He is also known for writing the Fudōchi shinmyōroku for Yagyū Munenori, teaching that the way of the sword and the mind of Zen are one; it is said to have helped turn martial techniques into a martial Way.
He became the first abbot of Tōkai-ji, which Iemitsu built at Shinagawa in Edo. He declined when the retired emperor sought to give him the supreme title of national teacher, and is said to have shown no desire when offered mansions or temples. Yet for the sake of his school he did not shrink from staying close to the shogun, and often gave political advice.
His long efforts bore fruit: Iemitsu formally announced that the rules of Daitoku-ji and Myōshin-ji, the cause of the Purple Robe Incident, would be restored. The purple robes that had been taken were returned to the monks. Many who had criticized Takuan for staying close to the shogun are said to have felt ashamed.
He died in Edo. It is said that when his disciples asked for his last words, he wrote the single character for dream and laid down his brush. He asked that no grave be built, yet graves stand at Sukyō-ji in Izushi and Tōkai-ji in Shinagawa. He is said to be the origin of the name of takuan pickled radish, but there are various theories.
A. A Rinzai Zen monk of the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. Born in Izushi in Tajima, he trained at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto and elsewhere. He protested to the shogunate in the Purple Robe Incident and was exiled to Kaminoyama in Dewa, but was later pardoned, won the deep trust of the third shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, and founded Tōkai-ji at Shinagawa in Edo. A well-known theory links his name to takuan pickles.
A. Period: Azuchi-Momoyama–Edo. Born in 1573, died in 1646.
A. Takuan Sōhō was born in Izushi, Tajima Province.
A. The shogunate cancelled permissions the emperor had given senior monks to wear purple robes, saying they broke its rules. Takuan and others of Daitoku-ji submitted a written protest and were exiled in 1629. The incident is seen as showing the balance of power between the court and the shogunate.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Oda NobunagaIshida MitsunariHosokawa TadaokiKuroda NagamasaYagyū MunenoriTokugawa HidetadaTokugawa Iemitsu
Hon'ami KōetsuŌkubo Tadataka (Hikozaemon)Yagyū MunenoriTokugawa HidetadaKasuga no TsuboneKobori EnshūHayashi RazanMiyamoto Musashi
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.