In 1654 Zen Master Yinyuan traveled from China to Japan. Seven years later his monastery, Manpukuji, was built and he had founded a new tradition, called Obaku. In this sequel to his 2008 book, Enlightenment in Dispute, Jiang Wu tells the story of the tremendous obstacles faced by Yinyuan,
drawing parallels between his experiences and the broader political and cultural context in which he lived.
Yinyuan claimed to have inherited the "Authentic Transmission of the Linji Sect." After arriving in Japan, he was able to persuade the Shogun to build a new Ming-style monastery
for the establishment of his Obaku school. His arrival in Japan coincided with a series of historical developments, including the Ming-Qing transition, the consolidation of early Tokugawa power, the growth of Nagasaki trade, and rising Japanese interests in Chinese learning and artistic pursuits.
While Yinyuan's travel is known in scholarly circles, the significance of his journey within East Asian history has not been fully explored. Leaving for the Rising Sun provides a unique opportunity to reexamine the crisis in the continent and responses from other parts of East Asia. Using Yinyuan's
story as a bridge between China and Japan, Wu demonstrates that the monk's significance is far greater than the temporary success of a religious sect. Rather, Yinyuan imported to Japan a new discourse of authenticity that gave rise to indigenous movements that challenged, and led to the eventual
breakup of, a China-centered world order.
Preface
Conventions
Chronology
Introduction: Yinyuan as a Symbol of Authenticity
1. In Search of Enlightenment: Yinyuan and the Reinvention of the "Authentic Transmission" in Late-Ming Buddhist Revival
2. Building a Dharma Transmission Monastery: Mount Huangbo in
Seventeenth-Century China
3. Leaving for the Rising Sun: the Historical Background of Yinyuan's Migration to Japan in 1654
4. The Taikun's Zen Master from China: The Edo Bakufu and the Founding of Manpukuji in 1661
5. The Multiple Lives of a Chinese Monk: Yinyuan as Zen Master, Literary
Man, and Thurmaturge
6. Authenticity in Dispute: Responses to the Idea of Authenticity in Edo Japan
7. Where are the Authentic Masters? The Bakufu's Failed Attempts to Recruit Chinese Monks
Conclusion: Yinyuan and the Authenticity Crisis in Early Modern East Asia
Chinese
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
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Jiang Wu is an associate professor in Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona. His research interests include Chinese Buddhism, especially Chan/Zen Buddhism and the Chinese Buddhist canon, Sino-Japanese Buddhist exchanges, and the application of spatial analysis tools in
the study of religion and culture. He is the author of Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-century China (2008).
