, Japanese poet, occupies a prominent place in Japanese Literature of the Five Mountains, literature in Chinese written in Japan. Chugan's achievement was his mastery of this difficult medium, a signal of the ripening of Five Mountains poetry and prose in Japan. He was born in

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

of a family that claimed descent from

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scop ...

(r. 781–806). At age eight he entered the prestigious monetary of the

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 ...

Rinzai sect in Kamakura as an acolyte. At twelve he was a disciple of Dokei. At this time Chugan began in earnest his Chinese studies, devoting himself to the ''Classic of Filial Piety'' and ''

Analects The ''Analects'', also known as the ''Sayings of Confucius'', is an ancient Chinese philosophical text composed of sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been compiled by his followers. ...

''. He left for Kyushu hoping to travel to China, but did not succeed. After this disappointment he traveled to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

and met the reclusive patriarch Kokan Shiren (1278–1346). In 1320 he realized his hopes for a journey to China that resulted in a seven-year study-tour of Zen masters and institutions. In 1332 Chugan returned in disgust to a Japan wracked by civil war and unrest. He chose for his residence the Nanzenji monastery in Kyoto. In 1339 he was asked to establish the Kisshoji monastery. From this point until his death in 1375 he was residing as head of many of the Zen establishments in Japan. His writings reflect both a

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

concern with social values and a Zen love of the ironic and iconoclastic.

Articles

* Carpenter, Bruce E., "Clarity and Irony: Chugan Engetsu" in ''Tezukayama University Review'' (Tezukayama daigaku ronshū), no. 19, 1978, Tezukayama University, Nara, Japan, pp. 1–14. ISSN 0385-7743 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chugan, Engetsu 1300 births 1375 deaths Rinzai Buddhists 14th-century Japanese poets Buddhist clergy of the Kamakura period People from Kamakura