Background
Soseki was born in 1275 in Ise, Mie, Japan. His mother was the daughter of Hōjō Masamura (1264-1268), seventh Shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate.
monk teacher garden designer calligraphist poet
Soseki was born in 1275 in Ise, Mie, Japan. His mother was the daughter of Hōjō Masamura (1264-1268), seventh Shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate.
At the age of four Soseki lost his mother and was therefore put in the temple of Hirashioyama under the guidance of priest Kūa. He entered a mountain temple in 1283, where he studied the Shingon and Tendai sects of Buddhism. In 1292 he took his vows at Tōdai-ji in Nara, and was given the name Chikaku.
In 1293 Soseki dreamed that, while visiting two temples in China called in Japanese Sozan and Sekitō he was given a portrait of Daruma Daishi and told to keep it safe. When he woke up, he thought Zen was his destiny, so he converted and went to study Zen at Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto under Muin Enpan, Kōhō Kennichi (1241–1316), and others. For the most part, however, he practiced alone. Kennichi confirmed Soseki's enlightenment after a period of time. Later, in remembrance of the dream, he composed his last name from the characters dream and window, and his first name taking a character from each of the temples he had seen in the dream, becoming Musō Soseki, the name under which he was to become famous.
In 1325 Emperor Go-Daigo requested that he come to Kyoto to become head priest of the great temple of Nanzen-ji. The following year Soseki founded Zen'o-ji in his native Ise. He was later invited by Kamakura's regent Hōjō Takatoki so, the following year, after establishing a temple in Ise province he went to Kamakura and stayed at Jōchi-ji and Engaku-ji.
In 1327 with Nikaidō Dōun's support Soseki founded Zuisen-ji, a temple destined to become an important cultural center in the region. Afterwards, he stayed at Kyūkō-ji in Kōchi Prefecture etc. He acquired creeds from both Hōjō Takatoki and Hōjō Sadaaki. After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, Soseki was ordered by the Emperor Go-Daigo to go back to Kyoto, where he founded Saihō-ji and Rinkawa-dera. It was in this period that he was given by imperial decree the name Musō Kokushi.
After Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration failed and Ashikaga Takauji became shōgun, like many other men of his time Soseki switched sides. He was ambitious and sensitive to power shifts, so he allied himself with the Ashikaga brothers, becoming their intimate and serving them well. He stayed with them for the rest of his long life, enjoying the support of both the shōgun and his brother Tadayoshi, who played a pivotal role in his career. Musō helped the two Ashikaga organize a network of Zen monasteries, the so-called Five Mountain System, and its subsidiary, the Ankoku-ji network of temples, across Japan. This helped create a national religious movement and solidify the shōgun's power. In 1339, at Go-Daigo's death he opened Tenryū-ji in Kyoto to ensure the Emperor a prosperous afterlife. The garden in front of the chief abbot's residence is one of his works, incorporating elements of the landscape in Arashiyama near Kyoto. It is considered evidence of his genius as a landscape designer.
Musō, together with Ashikaga Tadayoshi and a merchant named Shihon are considered responsible for the reopening of trade between Japan and China. As a result of the trading mission, the construction of Tenryū-ji was completed. The Kyoto Five Mountain Zen temple network was being established.
Even though none survives in its original form, Soseki's Zen gardens have proven to be one of his most lasting contributions to the country's culture and image. To Soseki designing new gardens and altering existing ones was an integral part of the practice of Zen.