Episode 430 - If the Wind Blows, Let it Blow

History of Japan

Isaac Meyer

Japan, History, Japanese

4.8 • 744 Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2022

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on the podcast, we're talking the tale of the iconoclastic monk Ikkyu Sojun. His fame is predicated on an odd combination of Zen austerity and the embrace of the wine shop and the brothel, rather than the temple, as the place to seek enlightenment.

Show notes here

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the history of Japan podcast, episode 430, If the wind blows, let it blow.
0:23.9	Last week, as we talked about Ashkaga Yoshimasa, we found ourselves in the 1400s, and while
0:29.6	we're here, I just had to take a moment to talk about one of my absolute favorite figures
0:34.3	of this time period. Those of you who have been listening to this podcast for a while have heard me talk about my
0:41.4	love of iconoclastic, abrasive Buddhist monks.
0:44.8	That's why my favorite poet of the Edo period is Kobayashi Issa and not something basic
0:50.0	like Bosho or Bousson.
0:51.9	They're fine, I guess, don't get me wrong, but neither ever really
0:55.7	wrote haikus about poops, so whatever, I guess. So if you're at all familiar with the culture of
1:01.9	Japan in the 1400s, you probably will not be surprised to learn that EQ Soljun is another
1:08.4	personal favorite of mine, and given his enduring cultural legacy,
1:11.9	I don't think I'm alone in that.
1:15.1	So who is this fascinating figure?
1:18.7	Well, Ikew's life started, promisingly enough.
1:22.0	He was born on the first day of the Lunar New Year of 1394 in Kyoto, the son of none other than a former emperor.
1:30.3	Specifically, he is often purported to be the son of the former Emperor Golkomatsu, who had
1:35.4	abdicated two years earlier and was now enjoying retirement, and indeed, since he was having
1:40.6	a new son, clearly enjoying it quite a bit.
1:47.9	I should note this is the traditional story we have for EQ's origins,
1:52.1	which comes from later sources, chiefly a rather glowing chronicle,
1:55.4	by one of EQ's lead disciples by the name of Bokai,
2:00.1	and it is not super well backed up by the documentary record of the 1400s,
	...

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