Sōiku Shigematsu
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a Japanese priest of Myoshin-ji branch of
Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...
School of
Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, abbot of
Shōgen-ji is a temple of the Myoshin-ji branch of Japanese Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan. History According to the oral tradition, Shōgen-ji was initially built as a Tendai temple during Saicho's visit to Eastern Japan ...
Temple in
Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka is the easternmost of the three Wards of Japan, wards of the city of Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. History Shimizu-ku was created on April 1, 2005, when Shizuoka became a city designated by government ordinance (a " ...
, author and translator of books and essays on Zen that were instrumental in spreading interest in Zen literary tradition to the West in the latter half of the 20th century. Shigematsu taught
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
at
Shizuoka University is a national university in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Shizuoka University is well known in the field of engineering, in creative innovation, and in the invention of next generation technology, with the prestigious international exchange o ...
also visiting the United States on several occasions, most notably in 1985-6 as a
Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
scholar. He won the Jerome J. Shestack Poetry Prize from ''
The American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizab ...
'' in 1987.


Early life, education, and academic career

Shigematsu Sōiku was born in the midst of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in the town of Shimizu. First son of , a Zen priest and accomplished calligrapher, he acquired the basic knowledge and experience of Zen life from his father. Notably, Kijū Shigematsu was also one of the teachers of Robert Aitken
Rōshi (Japanese language, Japanese: "old teacher"; "old master") is a title in Zen Buddhism with different usages depending on sect and country. In Rinzai Zen, the term is reserved only for individuals who have received ''inka shōmei'', meaning the ...
, during the latter's training at
Engaku-ji , or Engaku-ji (円覚寺), is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture to the south of Tokyo. Founded ...
monastery. Showing great interest in English language and literature Shigematsu entered
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies , often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist National university, national research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international relations, international affairs and area studies. ...
in 1963 (grad. 1967), subsequently conducting graduate studies at
Tokyo University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...
and
Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...
(grad. 1971) to later take up a professorship of English Literature at
Shizuoka University is a national university in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Shizuoka University is well known in the field of engineering, in creative innovation, and in the invention of next generation technology, with the prestigious international exchange o ...
(1975–2001). He also lectured and did research at Shizuoka Women's University (1972–75);
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
and
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
(1986/Fulbright scholar), and
Kansai Medical University is a private university in Hirakata, Osaka, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1928, and it was chartered as a women's medical college in 1947. In 1954 it became coeducational. Organization This university has following organi ...
(2001-7).


Works and publications

Shigematsu's pioneering translation of the two most important Japanese collections of
capping phrase , or of a ''kōan'' is a proof of solution of the case riddle, but not the solution itself. In Zen Buddhism, kōan is used both as a meditation device and as an expression of – a radical experiential insight into the nature of things and t ...
s or ''
jakugo , or of a ''kōan'' is a proof of solution of the case riddle, but not the solution itself. In Zen Buddhism, kōan is used both as a meditation device and as an expression of – a radical experiential insight into the nature of things and t ...
'' in Japanese - ''
Zenrin-kushū is a collection of writings used in the Rinzai school of Zen. Initially it was a compilation of Zen writings by Tōyō Eichō (東陽榮朝, 1428–1504) a disciple of Kanzan Egen of the Myōshin-ji line of Rinzai school in Kyoto, Japan. Tōyō ...
'' 禅林句集 (tr. as ''A Zen Forest, Sayings of the Masters'') and ''Zenrin Segoshū'' 禅林世語集 (tr. as ''A Zen Harvest, Japanese Folk Zen Sayings'') - is acknowledged as the magnum opus of contemporary English-speaking Zen world. In addition, he also translated poetry and sermons of
Musō Soseki was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligrapher, poet and garden designer. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as , an honorific conferred on him by Emperor Go-Daigo.''Musō Soseki'', Kyoto University His mother ...
and Zen
haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...
by
Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', ''Kusamakura (novel), Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work ''Light and Darkness (novel), Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of Br ...
. Based on the idea of anthologizing "worldly sayings" – insight-provoking expressions of regular people – collected in the above-mentioned second anthology, ''Zenrin Segoshū'', Shigematsu's current project concentrates on creation of an anthology of Zen sayings from the native English literary and other sources. Parts of it have already been published by
Shizuoka University is a national university in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Shizuoka University is well known in the field of engineering, in creative innovation, and in the invention of next generation technology, with the prestigious international exchange o ...
's ''Studies in Humanities'', e.g. "Zen Sayings" from R.W. Emerson (1985),
Henry D. Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natu ...
,
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...
,
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
,
John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...
, etc.Shigematsu Sōiku. (1985) "Zen sayings from Ralph Waldo Emerson." ''Studies in Humanities'', No. 35, January. Shizuoka University Press. pp. 25-54.
WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...
OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...
: 275471707


Poetry

In addition to his Japanese - English translations of Zen poetry, Shigematsu Sōiku is a poet composing
free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry which does not use a prescribed or regular meter or rhyme and tends to follow the rhythm of natural or irregular speech. Free verse encompasses a large range of poetic form, and the distinction between free ...
in Japanese. A poem found in the recently published sixth volume of Shigematsu's poetry reads:


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shigematsu, Soiku 1943 births Living people Rinzai Buddhists Zen Buddhist priests Japanese Zen Buddhists