Ingen
Chinese poet and monk
title: "Ingen" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["qing-dynasty-buddhist-monks", "obaku-buddhists", "zen-buddhist-abbots", "17th-century-abbots", "1592-births", "1673-deaths", "chinese-emigrants-to-japan", "chinese-zen-buddhists", "rinzai-buddhists", "ming-dynasty-calligraphers", "qing-dynasty-calligraphers", "writers-from-fuzhou", "artists-from-fuzhou", "poets-from-fujian", "qing-dynasty-poets", "chan-buddhist-monks", "ming-dynasty-buddhist-monks", "17th-century-buddhist-monks", "chinese-tea-masters", "buddhist-artists", "buddhist-clergy-of-the-edo-period", "17th-century-japanese-calligraphers"] description: "Chinese poet and monk" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingen" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Chinese poet and monk ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox religious biography"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| background | #FFD068 |
| name | Ingen Ryūki |
| native_name | Yinyuan Longqi |
| native_name_lang | Chinese |
| image | Portrait_of_Ingen_Ryūki_by_Kita_Genki.jpg |
| caption | Portrait of Ingen Ryūki from 1671 |
| religion | Buddhism |
| school | Chan |
| lineage | Linji school |
| birth_name | Lin Zengbing |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Fuqing, Fujian, Ming dynasty |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Uji, Kyōto, Japan |
| :: |
| background = #FFD068 | name = Ingen Ryūki | native_name = Yinyuan Longqi | native_name_lang = Chinese | image =Portrait_of_Ingen_Ryūki_by_Kita_Genki.jpg | caption = Portrait of Ingen Ryūki from 1671 | sanskrit = | religion = Buddhism | school = Chan | lineage = Linji school | sect = | subsect = | temple = | order = | other_name = | dharma_name = | monastic_name = | pen_name = | posthumous_name = | nationality = | birth_name = Lin Zengbing | birth_date = | birth_place = Fuqing, Fujian, Ming dynasty | death_date = | death_place = Uji, Kyōto, Japan | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | location = | title = | period = | consecration = | predecessor = | successor = | reason = | rank = | teacher = | reincarnation_of = | students = | works = | ordination = | profession = | education = | initiation = | previous_post = | present_post = | post = | website = Ingen Ryūki (, ) (December 7, 1592 – May 19, 1673) was a Chinese poet, calligrapher, and monk of Linji Chan Buddhism from China. He is most known for founding the Ōbaku school of Zen in Japan.
Ingen is said to have introduced, from China into Japan, the common bean, which is named after him ({{nihongo||隠元豆|Ingen mame|, Ingen itself is also short for Ingen mame). Robes worn by Ōbaku monks are called .
Biography
Ingen was born on December 7, 1592, in Fuqing, Fujian, during China's Ming dynasty. Ingen's father disappeared when he was five. At age 20, while searching for him, Ingen arrived at Mount Putuo off Zhejiang province, where he served tea to monks. At 28, after the death of his mother, he was ordained as a monk at his family temple - Wanfu Temple, Mount Huangbo, Fujian. Ingen's teachers there were Miyun Yuanwu and Feiyin Tongrong. In 1633 he received dharma transmission from the latter, and in 1637 served his first term as abbot. His second term as 33rd abbot of the temple began in 1646 and at this time he is credited with helping Mount Huangbo to develop into a thriving Buddhist centre.
In 1654, after repeated requests of Itsunen Shoyu, he went to Nagasaki, Japan with around 30 monks and artisans, including his disciple Mu'an. He founded the Ōbaku school of Zen. He established the Ōbaku head temple Manpuku-ji at Uji, Kyoto in 1661.
On May 21, 1673 (Enpō 1, 5th day of the 4th month), he died at Mampuku-ji.
Calligraphy
Ingen was a skilled calligrapher, introducing the Ming style of calligraphy to Japan. Along with his disciples Mu'an and Sokuhi Nyoitsu, he was one of the Ōbaku no Sanpitsu ("Three Brushes of Ōbaku"). He is known to have carried paintings by Chen Xian with him to Japan.
Selected work
Ingen's published writings encompass 35 works in 46 publications in 4 languages and 226 library holdings.
- 1979 — Complete Works of Ingen
Notes
References
- Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 48943301
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 251800045; see also * Imprimerie Royale de France,*
category:17th-century Chinese calligraphers
References
- [[Sanseidō]]. (10 March 2025)
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ingen" in {{Google books. p2QnPijAEmEC. ''Japan encyclopedia,'' p. 387.. link. (2012-05-24 .)
- {{lit. Ingen bean;. link
- link
- link
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). {{Google books. 18oNAAAAIAAJ. ''Annales des empereurs du japon,'' p. 414.
- [http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/identities/default.htm WorldCat Identities] {{webarchive. link. (2010-12-30 : [http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n80-133140 隱元 1592-1673])
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