was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese Zen

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

 Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 monk of the Rinzai sect. This priest and poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 who is considered "the first important poet of the Five Mountains

Japanese Literature of the Five Mountains

The literature of the Five Mountains is the literature produced by the principal Zen monastic centers of the Rinzai sect in Kyoto and Kamakura, Japan. The term also refers to five Zen centers in China in Hangzhou and Ningpo that inspired zen in Japan. The term "mountain" refers to Buddhist monastery...

.

In China

Yūbai lived in China for over twenty years (1307–1329). He was imprisoned in Chang'an

Chang'an

Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...

 during the period in which Zen Buddhists were persecuted. Many of the poems were created during or about this period survive; and they form the basis of his reputation. In Bingatshū, the collection of 242 poems includes this one:

I do not like praises and honours

Nor did I fear disdain

I just stayed away.

My mind, clear water,

My body bound and tied

For three years in Chang'an.

I sing what I feel in songs

In straight words, undecorated.

Yūbai studied Linji

Linji

Línjì Yìxuán was the founder of the Linji school of Chán Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Linji was born into a family named Xing in Caozhou , which he left at a young age to study Buddhism in many places....

 Ch'an under I-shan I-ning in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

In Japan

With the patronage of the Akamatsu clan

Akamatsu clan

The was a Japanese samurai family of direct descent from Minamoto no Morifusa. They were prominent shugo-daimyō in Harima during the Sengoku period.-Select members of the clan:* Akamatsu Norimura .* Akamatsu Norisuke ....

, Yūbai was able to become the founder of a number of provincial Buddhist temple-monasteries in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, including Hōun-ji and Hōrin-ji

Hōrin-ji (Harima)

is a Rinzai Buddhist temple in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture .-History:With the patronage of the Akamatsu clan, Sesson Yūbai was able to become the founder of a number of provincial Buddhist temple-monasteries, including Hōrin-ji in Harima....

 in Harima, Hyōgo

Harima, Hyogo

is a town located in Kako District, Hyōgo, Japan. The town shares its name with Harima Province, one of the old provinces of Japan. Harima was known as Ae village until April 1962...

. Some of these temples were ranked among the provincial jissatsu by Muromachi shogunate, which encouraged its vasssls shugo to found monetaries in the provinces.

Prominent among Yūbai's followers were Akamatsu Norimura

Akamatsu Norimura

was a Japanese samurai and clan leader of the Muromachi period.-Shugo:Norimura served as the shugo of Harima Province, awarded in 1336 after switching his support to the Ashikaga side from the Emperor Go-Daigo....

 (1277–1350) and his son Akamatsu Norisuke (1314–1371).

See also

• Buddhism in Japan
  Buddhism in Japan
  The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods, namely the Nara period , the Heian period and the post-Heian period . Each period saw the introduction of new doctrines and upheavals in existing schools...
  
  
• List of Rinzai Buddhists
• Japanese Literature of the Five Mountains
  Japanese Literature of the Five Mountains
  The literature of the Five Mountains is the literature produced by the principal Zen monastic centers of the Rinzai sect in Kyoto and Kamakura, Japan. The term also refers to five Zen centers in China in Hangzhou and Ningpo that inspired zen in Japan. The term "mountain" refers to Buddhist monastery...