Soseki was an abbot at Zenrin-ji, Tenryū-ji, Zuisen-ji and many other temples. At the very center of their birth stands Musō Soseki. The temples of the Five Mountain System network of Zen temples were centers of learning of Confucian metaphysics, Chinese poetry, painting, calligraphy, printing, architecture, garden design, and ceramics, and as such have left an indelible mark on the country's history and culture. The Kyoto Five Mountain Zen temple network was being established. As a result of the trading mission, the construction of Tenryū-ji was completed. Musō, together with Ashikaga Tadayoshi and a merchant named Shihon are considered responsible for the reopening of trade between Japan and China. It is considered evidence of his genius as a landscape designer. The garden in front of the chief abbot's residence is one of his works, incorporating elements of the landscape in Arashiyama near Kyoto. In 1339, at Go-Daigo's death he opened Tenryū-ji in Kyoto to ensure the Emperor a prosperous afterlife. This helped create a national religious movement and solidify the shōgun's power. Musō helped the two Ashikaga organize a network of Zen monasteries, the so-called Five Mountain System, and its subsidiary, the Ankoku-ji network of temples, across Japan. He stayed with them for the rest of his long life, enjoying the support of both the shōgun and his brother Tadayoshi, who played a pivotal role in his career. He was ambitious and sensitive to power shifts, so he allied himself with the Ashikaga brothers, becoming their intimate and serving them well. After that, six years passed, and he died.Īfter Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration failed and Ashikaga Takauji became shōgun, like many other men of his time Soseki switched sides. In 1345 of Muromachi period, he founded Tenryū-ji in Kyoto, that is his most important work. It was in this period that he was given by imperial decree the name Musō Kokushi. After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, he was ordered by the Emperor Go-Daigo to go back to Kyoto, where he founded Saihō-ji and Rinkawa-dera. He acquired creeds from both Hōjō Takatoki and Hōjō Sadaaki. Afterwards, he stayed at Kyūkō-ji in Kōchi Prefecture. In 1327 with Nikaidō Dōun's support he founded Zuisen-ji, a temple destined to become an important cultural center in the region. The following year he founded Zen'o-ji in his native Ise He was later invited by Kamakura's regent Hōjō Takatoki so, the following year, after establishing a temple in Ise province he went to Kamakura and stayed at Jōchi-ji and Engaku-ji. In 1325 Emperor Go-Daigo requested that he come to Kyoto to become head priest of the great temple of Nanzen-ji. Later, in remembrance of the dream, he composed a new name for himself, forming his family name from characters meaning dream and window, and his given name from the first characters of the names of the two temples appearing in his dream it was this new name, Musō Soseki, by which he was to become famous. Kennichi confirmed Soseki's enlightenment after a period of time. For the most part, however, he practiced alone. When he awoke, he concluded that Zen must be his destiny, so he converted and went to study Zen at Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto under Muin Enpan ( 無隠円範), Kōhō Kennichi ( 高峯顕日, 1241–1316), and others. In 1293 he dreamed that, while visiting two temples in China called in Japanese Sozan ( 疎山) and Sekitō ( 石頭) he was given a portrait of Daruma Daishi (the introductor of Chan Buddhism in China, commonly called Zen Buddhism in English) and told to keep it safe. In 1292 he took his vows at Tōdai-ji in Nara, and was given the name Chikaku. He entered a mountain temple in 1283, where he studied the Shingon and Tendai sects of Buddhism. At the age of four he lost his mother and was therefore put in the temple of Hirashioyama under the guidance of priest Kūa. Originally from Ise Province, now part of modern-day Mie Prefecture, Soseki was a ninth-generation descendant of Emperor Uda. His mother was the daughter of Hōjō Masamura (1264–1268), seventh Shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as Musō Kokushi ( 夢窓国師, "national teacher Musō"), an honorific conferred on him by Emperor Go-Daigo. Musō Soseki ( 夢窓 疎石, 1275 – October 20, 1351) was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligraphist, poet and garden designer.
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