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Ikkyu was born during the Ashikaga shogunate, during time known as the Muromachi period, where it freshly restored capital of Japan back to Kyoto from Kamakura. He was eventually named abbot of the seminal Daitokuji temple, placing him in one of the most important Zen linneages. In 1471, at the age of 77, Ikkyu fell in love with Mori, a blind woman over fifty years his junior. He died eleven years later.

Ikkyu is one of the most significant (and eccentric) figures in Zen history. To Japanese children, he is a folk hero, mischievous and always out-smarting his teachers and shogun. This is due to very popular animated TV series "Ikkyu-san". To Zen tradition, he is both heretic and saint. Ikkyu was among the few Zen priests who argued that his enlightenment was deepened by consorting with pavilion girls. He entered brothels wearing his black robes, since for him sexual intercourse was a religious rite. At the same time he warned Zen against its own bureaucratic politicising.

Ikkyu wrote in classical ChineseClassical Chinese or Literary Chinese (, pinyin: wenyan, literal meaning: " literary language" or , literal: "ancient written language") is a traditional style of written Chinese prose using grammar and vocabulary very different from any modern spoken for, as did literary men in Japan at the time. His verse is immediate and poignant, insightful and at times moving.

External links and references

• Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu, translated by John Stevens. Published by Shambala in Boston, 1995.