WKD (01) ... World Kigo Database: Ryokan Day (Ryokan-ki)

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Ryokan Memorial Day (Ryokan-ki, Japan)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Winter (January 6, 1831)
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Ryokan (Ryookan 良寛, 1758-1831)
(Nickname: Great Fool、Taigu 大愚)

http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/mariya/photo/gallery-index.html

He lives on as one of Japan's best-loved poets, the wise fool who wrote of his humble life with such directness.
Ordained as a Soto Zen priest and certified as a master, Ryokan chose to express his practice of the Way through living as a hermit in the countryside, begging for his food as was done by the Buddha and His disciples in ancient India.
Ryokan had no disciples, ran no temple, and in the eyes of the world was a penniless monk who spent his life in the snow country of Mt. Kugami in Northern Japan. He admired most the Soto Zen teachings of Dogen Zenji and the unconventional life and poetry of Zen mountain poet Han-shan.

"Who says my poems are poems?
These poems are not poems.
When you can understand this,
Then we can begin to speak of poetry."

Ryokan never published a collection of verse while alive. His practice consisted of sitting in zazen meditation, walking in the woods, playing with children, making his daily begging rounds, reading and writing poetry, doing calligraphy, and on occasion drinking wine with friends.

Too confused to ever earn a living
I've learned to let things have their way

Too lazy to learn right from wrong,
I laugh at myself, ignoring others

He lived for 20 years in a small hermitage at the slope of Mt. Kugami 国上山（くがみやま）in Echigo province, Northern Japan. I visited this "Go-goo-An" (Gogo-An, 五合庵) many years ago, way up in the hills, quite far to walk to the nearest village to beg for alms. It is located in the precincts of the Temple Kugami-ji, but you reach it only after quite a lonely walk through the forest. It has just four walls and a roof and must be pretty icecold in winter, since this side of Japan receives a lot of snow every year. There is a spring nearby which is said not to freeze in winter.

Temple Entsuu-Ji in Tamashima 　玉島の円通寺
Entsu-ji is famous for being the temple where renowned priest Ryokan，lover of children and noted poet and scholar，trained in his youth. The temple holds the Ryokan Festival and the Ryokan Tea Ceremony annually. Entsu-ji was founded by priest Gyoki in the 8th Century. It is set atop a hill surrounded by beautiful gardens with trees，camellias and azaleas in Tamashima, close to Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture.

Ryokan got his name from the priest of this temple.

http://www.kurashiki.co.jp/entsuji/ryokan10-e.htm

1790 (The second year of Kansei)
After Ryokan finished his hard training, the Reverend Kokusen gave him a walking stick and a piece of paper, which showed he was a real priest.The paper said: "Ryo seems foolish, but the road is very wide".
And in this we can see the Chinese characters "Ryo良"(Good) and "Kan寛"(Wide)

In Memory of Ryokan, artists of Tamashima produce a nice Ryokan Daruma doll.

WKD (01) ... World Kigo Database

6/24/2006

Ryokan Day (Ryokan-ki)

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