Ryōkan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan

Ryokan (1758-1831), a Buddhist monk in the Zen sect, was a major figure in Tokugawa poetry. Although a Zen master, he never headed a temple but chose to live alone in simple huts and to support himself by begging. His poems are mainly a record of his daily activities - of chores and outings to gather firewood and edible plants, lonely snow-bound winters, begging expeditions to town, meetings with friends, romps with the village children. At the same time they show us how contented, even joyous, a man could be with a minimum of material possessions, and how rich a spiritual and intellectual life he could enjoy in the midst of poverty.

Author: Ryōkan
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 05/05/1992
Pages: 126
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.35lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.38w x 0.37d
ISBN13: 9780231044158
ISBN10: 0231044151
BISAC Categories:
- Poetry | Asian | Japanese
- Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures

About the Author
Burton Watson is one of the world's best-known translators from the Chinese and Japanese. His translations include The Lotus Sutra, The Vimalakirti Sutra, Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings, Saigyo: Poems of a Mountain Home, and The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century, all published by Columbia.