以心崇伝
Ishin Sūden was born in 1569 in Kyoto, the son of Isshiki Hidekatsu, a retainer of the Ashikaga family. His father died in the overthrow of the Ashikaga shogunate in 1573, whereupon he entered Nan- zen-ji, becoming a disciple of Gempo Reisan.
His personal name was Ishin, and his posthumous title Ensho Honko Kokushi.
He went to Kamakura in 1605 to become head monk of Kencho-ji, but returned to Kyoto the following year and devoted all his efforts to restoring Nanzen-ji. In 1608 he was summoned into the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1610 he built a temple called Konchi-in in Sumpu, where Ieyasu was living in retirement, and took up residence there. Under Ieyasu’s direction, he handled documents pertaining to foreign relations.
In 1619 he moved the Konchi-in to Edo and was commonly called Konchi-in Süden.
It is said the Süden drew to Ieyasu’s attention the inscription on the bell of Hökö-ji. The bell had been contributed by Toyotomi Hideyori, the son of Ieyasu’s former rival for power, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the inscription contained the characters used for Ieyasu’s name. Ieyasu, claiming that the intent was to put a curse on him, used the inscription as a pretext to make war on the Toyotomi family, eventually wiping them out. Süden was also active in the so-called purple robe affair of 1627-29, in which the shogunate countermanded orders given by the emperor to grant purple robes and other marks of honor to members of the Buddhist clergy, opposing the imperial court and the temples and working to strengthen the power of the shogunate. Thus, although a member of the clergy himself, he played an important role in extending and stabilizing the authority of the shogunal government in the early Edo period. As a result, he came to be referred to as Kokui no Saisho, the Premier in Monk’s Robes.
He encouraged the government in its anti-Christian policy and took part in drafting the various proclamations outlawing Christianity and ordering the foreign missionaries out of the country. He was also active in affairs pertaining to the regulation of Buddhist institutions and in other domestic affairs, participating in the formulation of the ordinances known as Jiin hatto, Kvge shohatto, and Buke shohatto.
