Friday, July 3, 2026

A00181 -Izumi Shikibu, Eleventh Century Japanese Woman Who Is One of the Thirty-Six Female Immortals of Poetry

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Shikibu, Izumi

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Izumi Shikibu, shown here in a c. 1765 Kusazōshi by Komatsuken, was a poet at Empress Shoshi's court.


                    









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"Watching the moon

"at dawn,

"solitary, mid-sky,

"I knew myself completely: 

"no part left out."  (12/27/2023)

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Izumi Shikibu (Japanese: 和泉式部; born 976?) was a mid-Heian period Japanese poet. She is a member of the Thirty-six Medieval Poetry Immortals (中古三十六歌仙, chūko sanjurokkasen). She was the contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu, and Akazome Emon at the court of empress Joto Mon'in.

She "is considered by many to have been the greatest woman poet of the Heian period". Her legacy includes 242 poems and two kashu.[1]

"Torn between worldly ties and physical desire, Izumi Shikibu left a wealth of passionate love poetry, fueling rumors that purported that she was a femme fatale with numerous lovers besides her two husbands and two princely lovers."[2]: 155 

Early life

Izumi Shikibu was the daughter of Oe no Masamune, governor of Echizen. Her mother was the daughter of Taira no Yasuhira, governor of Etchu. In 995, at the age of 20, Izumi was married to Tachibana no Michisada, governor of Izumi, the origin for her name. Their daughter was born in 997, Koshikibu no Naishi, who also became a poet. However, Izumi soon divorced, and her former husband died soon afterwards.[3]: 4, 7, 9 [4]

As is standard for Heian period women, her name is a composite of "Izumi" from her husband's charge (任国, ningoku) and her father's official designation of master of ceremony (式部, shikibu).

Affairs and marriages

She had a sequence of affairs at the imperial court in Kyoto. In the beginning, before her marriage to Michisada, she is believed to have been the companion (some accounts say wife) of a man named Omotomaru at dowager Queen Shoko's court.

While still married to Michisada, she fell in love and had an affair with Emperor Reizei's third son, Prince Tametaka (Danjo no Miya Tametaka Shinnō:弾正宮為尊親王 977–1002). As a result of the scandal her husband divorced her and her family disowned her. The Eiga Monogatari implies that Tametaka fell ill and died because of his "continual nocturnal escapades."[3]: 8–9, 11 [4]

After Tametaka's death, she was courted by Prince Atsumichi (敦道親王, Atsumichi Shinnō; 981–1007), Tametaka's brother. The first year of this affair is described in her semi-autobiographical Diary. Her motive in writing the diary "seems to have been written solely to appease her mind, and to record the poems which passed between them." Izumi then moved into Atsumichi's residence, and the two had a very public courtship until Atsumichi's death in 1007 at the age of 27.[3]: 12–13 [4]

Soon after, probably in 1009, Izumi joined the court of Fujiwara no Shōshi, who was the daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga, and the consort of Emperor Ichijō.[3]: 14 

Further testimony of the scandal caused by her successive affairs with the Princes Tametaka and Atsumichi can be found in two historical tales (rekishi monogatari) about the period, A Tale of Flowering Fortunes (or Eiga Monogatari), c. mid-eleventh century, and The Great Mirror (or Ōkagami), c. late eleventh century.

Diary

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English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Izumi Shikibu Nikki was written at the beginning of Izumi's relationship with Prince Atsumichi and continues for about nine months (1003–1004). Written in a third person narrative, the diary contains waka poetry, with over one hundred poems including renga. The "plot" is one of "alternate ardor and indifference on the part of the Prince, and timidity and yearning on the part of Izumi."[3]: 25–26 

Her important work is present in the Izumi Shikibu Collection (和泉式部集, Izumi Shikibu-shū) and the imperial anthologies. Her life of love and passion earned her the nickname of The Floating Lady (浮かれ女, ukareme) from Michinaga.

Also at the court at the same time as Izumi were Akazome Emon, Murasaki Shikibu, and Ise no Taifu.[3]: 14 

Later years

While at the court in 1009, she married Fujiwara no Yasumasa (958–1036), a military commander under Michinaga famous for his bravery, and left the court to accompany him to his charge in Tango Province. She outlived her daughter Koshikibu no Naishi, but the year of her death is unknown. The last Imperial correspondence from her was a poem written in 1027. The Eiga Monogatari includes this poem, which accompanied Yasumasa's offering of jewels for a Buddha figure "made in memory of the Empress Dowager Yoshiko."[3][5][4]: 13 [2]

She later devoted herself to Buddhism, donning Buddhist robes that she wore for the rest of her life. Her Dharma name was Seishin Insei Hōni (誠心院専意法尼).[6]

Legacy

In contemporary arts, the Opéra National de Paris and the Grand Théâtre de Genève jointly commissioned an opera based on her poems. Titled Da gelo a gelo by Salvatore Sciarrino and sung in Italian, the work draws on 65 poems from Izumi Shikibu Nikki that features her passion for Prince Atsumichi. It was performed in early 2008 in Geneva with the Chamber Orchestra of Geneva.[7][8]

Poetry

A page 2nd collected works of Izumi Shikibu 12th century

  • 刈藻かき臥猪の床のゐを安み
         さこそねざらめ斯らずもがな
    karu mo kaki fusu wi no toko no wi wo yasumi sa koso nezarame kakarazu mo gana
    loosely: Trampling the dry grass the wild boar makes his bed, and sleeps. I would not sleep so soundly even were I without these feelings.
    (Goshūi Wakashū 14:821)

    黒髪のみだれも知らず打臥せば
         まづかきやりし人ぞ戀しき
    kurokami no midaremo shirazu uchifuseba madzu kakiyarishi hito zo kohishiki
    loosely: My black hair is unkempt; unconcerned, he lies down and first gently smooths it, my darling!
    (Goshūi Wakashū 13:755)

    長閑なる折こそなけれ花を思ふ心の
         うちに風はふかねど
    nodoka naru ori koso nakere hana wo omou kokoro no uchi ni kaze wa fukanedo
    loosely: "There is not even a moment of calmness. In the heart that loves the blossoms, the wind is already blowing."
    ([1])

  • A large number of her poems are poems of lamentation (哀傷歌, aishō no uta). A few examples, first to Tametaka:

    亡人のくる夜ときけど君もなし
         我が住む宿や魂無きの里
    naki hito no kuru yo to kikedo kimi mo nashi wa ga sumu yado ya tamanaki no sato
    loosely: They say the dead return tonight, but you are not here. Is my dwelling truly a house without spirit?
    (Goshūi Wakashū 10:575)

    Upon seeing her daughter Koshikibu no Naishi's name on her Imperial robes she received after her death:

    諸共に苔のしたには朽ちずして
         埋もれぬ名をみるぞ悲しき
    morotomo ni koke no shita ni ha kuchizu shite udzumorenu na wo miru zo kanashiki
    loosely: Beneath the moss, imperishable, her name of high renown: seeing it is a great sadness.
    (Kin'yō Wakashū 10:620)

References

  1.  McMillan, Peter (2008). One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each. Columbia University Press. p. 142. ISBN 9780231143998.
  2.  Mulhern, Chieko (1994). Japanese Women Writers: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. Greenwood Press. p. 154. ISBN 0313254869.
  3.  Cranston, Edwin (1969). The Izumi Shikibu Diary. Harvard University Press. p. 15,17,203,205. ISBN 978-0674469853.
  4.  Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan. Translated by Omori, Anne Shepley; Doi, Kochi. The Riverside Press Cambridge. 1920. p. 13. ISBN 9781515057383. Introduction by Amy Lowell.
  5.  Sato, Hiroaki (1995). Legends of the Samurai. Overlook Duckworth. p. 30. ISBN 9781590207307.
  6.  柴佳世乃「和泉式部」 / 小野一之・鈴木彰・谷口榮・樋口州男編 『人物伝小辞典 古代・中世編』 東京堂出版 2004年 26ページ
  7.  "Adultery in Medieval Japan Gets Atonal Treatment at Paris Opera - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. 2012-10-26. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  8.  "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-14.

Bibliography

Further reading

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The Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry (三十六歌仙, Sanjūrokkasen) are a group of Japanese poets of the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. The oldest surviving collection of the 36 poets' works is Nishi Honganji Sanju-rokunin Kashu ("Nishi Honganji 36 poets collection") of 1113. Similar groups of Japanese poets include the Kamakura period Nyōbō Sanjūrokkasen (女房三十六歌仙), composed by court ladies exclusively, and the Chūko Sanjūrokkasen (中古三十六歌仙), or Thirty-Six Heian-era Immortals of Poetry, selected by Fujiwara no Norikane [ja] (1107–1165). This list superseded an older group called the Six Immortals of Poetry.

Sets of portraits (essentially imaginary) of the group were popular in Japanese painting and later woodblock prints, and often hung in temples.

Kintō's Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry

  1. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
  2. Ki no Tsurayuki
  3. Ōshikōchi Mitsune
  4. Lady Ise
  5. Ōtomo no Yakamochi
  6. Yamabe no Akahito
  7. Ariwara no Narihira
  8. Henjō
  9. Sosei
  10. Ki no Tomonori
  11. Sarumaru no Taifu
  12. Ono no Komachi
  13. Fujiwara no Kanesuke
  14. Fujiwara no Asatada
  15. Fujiwara no Atsutada
  16. Fujiwara no Takamitsu
  17. Minamoto no Kintada
  18. Mibu no Tadamine
  19. Saigū no Nyōgo
  20. Ōnakatomi no Yorimoto
  21. Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
  22. Minamoto no Shigeyuki
  23. Minamoto no Muneyuki
  24. Minamoto no Saneakira
  25. Fujiwara no Kiyotada
  26. Minamoto no Shitagō
  27. Fujiwara no Okikaze
  28. Kiyohara no Motosuke
  29. Sakanoue no Korenori
  30. Fujiwara no Motozane
  31. Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu
  32. Fujiwara no Nakafumi
  33. Taira no Kanemori
  34. Mibu no Tadami
  35. Kodai no Kimi
  36. Nakatsukasa

Thirty-Six Female Immortals of Poetry

Main article↗︎

Nyōbō Sanjūrokkasen (女房三十六歌仙), composed in the Kamakura period, refers to thirty-six female immortals of poetry:[1]

  1. Ono no Komachi
  2. Ise
  3. Nakatsukasa
  4. Kishi Joō
  5. Ukon
  6. Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha
  7. Uma no Naishi
  8. Akazome Emon
  9. Izumi Shikibu
  10. Kodai no Kimi
  11. Murasaki Shikibu
  12. Koshikibu no Naishi
  13. Ise no Taifu
  14. Sei Shōnagon
  15. Daini no Sanmi
  16. Takashina no Kishi
  17. Yūshi Naishinnō-ke no Kii
  18. Sagami
  19. Shikishi Naishinnō
  20. Kunai-kyō
  21. Suō no Naishi
  22. Fujiwara no Toshinari no Musume
  23. Taikenmon'in no Horikawa
  24. Gishūmon'in no Tango
  25. Kayōmon'in no Echizen
  26. Nijōin no Sanuki
  27. Kojijū
  28. Go-Toba-in no Shimotsuke
  29. Ben no Naishi
  30. Gofukakusa-in no shōshō no naishi
  31. Inpumon'in no Tayū
  32. Tsuchimikado'in no Kosaishō
  33. Hachijō-in Takakura
  34. Fujiwara no Chikako
  35. Shikikenmon'in no Mikushige
  36. Sōhekimon'in no Shōshō

New Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry

There are at least two groups of Japanese poets called New Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry (新三十六歌仙, Shinsanjūrokkasen):

The term usually refers to the second, as this is still extant:[2]

  1. Emperor Go-Toba
  2. Emperor Tsuchimikado
  3. Emperor Juntoku
  4. Emperor Go-Saga
  5. Prince Masanari of Rokujō-no-Miya
  6. Prince Munetaka of Kamakura-no-Miya
  7. Prince Dōjonyūdō
  8. Princess Shikishi
  9. Kujō Yoshitsune
  10. Kujō Michiie
  11. Saionji Kintsune
  12. Koga Michiteru
  13. Saionji Saneuji
  14. Minamoto no Sanetomo
  15. Kujō Motoie
  16. Fujiwara no Ieyoshi
  17. Jien
  18. Gyōi
  19. Minamoto no Michitomo (Horikawa Michitomo)
  20. Fujiwara no Sadaie
  21. Hachijō-in Takakura
  22. Shunzei's Daughter
  23. Go-Toba-in Kunaikyō
  24. Sōhekimon'in no Shōshō
  25. Fujiwara no Tameie
  26. Asukai Masatsune
  27. Fujiwara no Ietaka
  28. Fujiwara no Tomoie
  29. Fujiwara no Ariie
  30. Hamuro Mitsutoshi
  31. Fujiwara no Nobuzane
  32. Minamoto no Tomochika
  33. Fujiwara no Takasuke
  34. Minamoto no Ienaga
  35. Kamo no Chōmei
  36. Fujiwara no Hideyoshi

Late Classical Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry

  1. Sei Shōnagon
  2. Izumi Shikibu
  3. Sagami
  4. Egyō
  5. Akazome Emon
  6. Fujiwara no Michinobu
  7. Nōin
  8. Taira no Sadafumi
  9. Kiyohara no Fukayabu
  10. Uma no Naishi
  11. Fujiwara no Yoshitaka
  12. Ōe no Chisato
  13. Fujiwara no Sadayori
  14. Jōtōmon'in no Chūjō
  15. Murasaki Shikibu
  16. Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha
  17. Fujiwara no Nagatō
  18. Ariwara no Muneyana
  19. Fujiwara no Michimasa
  20. Prince Kanemi
  21. Ise no Taifu
  22. Sone no Yoshitada
  23. Fun'ya no Yasuhide
  24. Fujiwara no Tadafusa
  25. Sugawara no Sukeaki
  26. Ōe no Masahira
  27. Anpō
  28. Ōe no Yoshitoki
  29. Minamoto no Michinari
  30. Dōmyō
  31. Zōki
  32. Ariwara no Motokata
  33. Fujiwara no Sanekata
  34. Fujiwara no Kintō
  35. Ōnakatomi no Sukechika
  36. Fujiwara no Takatō

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Izumi Shikibu — Selected Poetic Quotes

Izumi Shikibu (976–1030) was a celebrated Heian-period Japanese poet and court lady, renowned for her lyrical waka poetry. Her verses often explore themes of love, impermanence, beauty, and the fleeting nature of life. Here are some of her most famous and moving quotes:

  • “In this world love has no color yet how deeply my body is stained by yours.” — A poignant reflection on love’s purity and its deep, lasting mark on the soul Goodreads.

  • “Even when a river of tears courses through this body, the flame of love cannot be quenched.” — Expresses enduring love despite sorrow Goodreads.

  • “Watching the moon at dawn, solitary, mid-sky, I knew myself completely, no part left out.” — A moment of self-realization and oneness with the cosmos Goodreads.

  • “The one close to me now, even my own body — these too will soon become clouds, floating in different directions.” — A meditation on impermanence and separation Goodreads.

  • “Come quickly — as soon as these blossoms open, they fall. This world exists as a sheen of dew on flowers.” — Captures the fleeting beauty of life A-Z Quotes+1.

  • “In love longing I listen to the monk’s bell. I will never forget you even for an interval short as those between the bell notes.” — A delicate intertwining of love, time, and memory A-Z Quotes+1.

  • “Although the wind blows terribly here, the moonlight also leaks between the roof planks of this ruined house.” — A quiet acceptance of beauty amid hardship Goodreads.

  • “Things I Want: Which shouldn’t exist in this world, the one who forgets or the one who is forgotten? Which is better, to love one who has died or not to see each other when you’re alive?” — A philosophical inquiry into love, loss, and memory Goodreads.

  • “Nothing in the world is usual today. This is the first morning.” — A simple yet profound observation on the uniqueness of each moment Goodreads+1.

  • “Out of the dark, into a dark path I now must enter: shine on me from afar, moon of the mountain fringe!” — Often cited as her death verse, symbolizing the transition from life to the afterlife en.wikiquote.org.

These quotes reflect Izumi Shikibu’s mastery of waka form, her sensitivity to nature, and her ability to convey deep emotion with concise, evocative language. Her work remains a cornerstone of Japanese literary tradition.

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Izumi Shikibu > Quotes

 

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Showing 1-25 of 25
“In this world
love has no color
yet how deeply
my body
is stained by yours.”
― Izumi Shikibu, Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan
tags: inspirational, love
136 likes
Like
“Even if I now saw you
only once,
I would long for you
through worlds,
worlds.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: longing, love, rejection
123 likes
Like
“Even when a river of tears
courses through
this body,
the flame of love
cannot be quenched.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: love, sorrow
117 likes
Like
“Watching the moon
at dawn,
solitary, mid-sky,
I knew myself completely,
no part left out.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: oneness
68 likes
Like
“The one close to me now,
even my own body-
these too
will soon become clouds,
floating in different directions.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: change, death, impermanence
33 likes
Like
“Things I Want Decided

Which shouldn't exist
in this world,
the one who forgets
or the one
who is forgotten?

Which is better,
to love
one who has died
or not to see
each other when you're alive?

Which is better,
the distant lover
you long for
or the one you see daily
without desire?

Which is the least unreliable
among fickle things —
the swift rapids,
a flowing river,
or this human world?”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
20 likes
Like
“Although the wind
blows terribly here,
the moonlight also leaks
between the roof planks
of this ruined house.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: acceptance, contentment, enlightenment, wisdom
18 likes
Like
“Nothing
in the world
is usual today.
This is
the first morning.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
18 likes
Like
“For a moment
he became smoke.
How intimate,
now,
the cloudy sky.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: poetry
12 likes
Like
“If the one I waited for
came now, what should I do?
This morning's garden filled with snow
is far too lovely
for footsteps to mar.”
― Izumi Shikibu , The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: acceptance, romance, waiting
11 likes
Like
“Rather than recall
in these flowers
the fragrance of the past,
I would like to hear this nightingale's voice,
to know if his song is as sweet.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
9 likes
Like
“The way I must enter
leads through darkness to darkness-
O moon above the mountain's rim,
please shine a little further
on my path,”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: death, dying, enlightenment, life, longing
7 likes
Like
“When the netted fence of spiderwebs
that darkens my ruined house
can hold the wind in its strands-
that's when these troubled thoughts
will blow away. . . .”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: depression, loss, melancholy, memory, worry
7 likes
Like
“Although
the cricket's song
has no words,
still,
it sounds like sorrow.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: sadness
7 likes
Like
“Perhaps, if I make a friend
of the mountain cuckoo
in this world,
he will talk to me
when we cross the mountain of death”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
tags: poetry
4 likes
Like
“Oi elämäni,
toivoton sammumaton.
Miten kadehdin
tuulen tuivertamia
soihtuja yössä.”
― Izumi Shikibu
tags: finnish, japanese, poetry, tanka
2 likes
Like
“I used up this body longing for one who does not come,”
― Izumi Shikibu
1 likes
Like
“In this world
love has no color --
yet how deeply
my body
is stained by yours”
― Izumi Shikibu
0 likes
Like
“Lakkaako kerran
olemassaoloni,
vai muistanenko
viime tapaamisemme
maailman tuolle puolen?”
― Izumi Shikibu
0 likes
Like
“More fragrant
because of the one
who saw and picked them,
these flowers,
precious, transient--”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon
0 likes
Like
“In this world / love has no color — / yet how deeply / my body / is stained by yours”
― Izumi Shikibu
0 likes
Like
“In this world
love has no color —
yet how deeply
my body
is stained by yours”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
0 likes
Like
“In this world
love has no color —
yet how deeply
my body
is stained by yours”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan
0 likes
Like
“暗より暗道にぞ入ぬべき遙に照せ山の葉の月”
― Izumi Shikibu
tags: darkness, izumi, japanese, life, middle-ages, moon, poetry, waka
0 likes
Like
“Wishing to see him
to be seen by him -
if only he
were the mirror
I face each morning.”
― Izumi Shikibu, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan

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Thursday, July 2, 2026

A00180 - Zenkei Shibayama, Japanese Rinzai Zen Master

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Shibayama, Zenkei 

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Zenkei Shibayama
Personal life
Born30 November 1894
Japan
Died29 August 1974 (aged 79)
OccupationWriter
Rōshi
Religious life
ReligionZen Buddhism
SchoolRinzai
Senior posting
Based inNanzen-ji
Otani University

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"The mirror is thoroughly egoless and mindless.  If a flower comes it reflects a flower, if a bird comes it reflects a bird.  It shows a beautiful object as beautiful, an ugly object as ugly.  Everything is revealed as it is.  There is no discriminating mind or self-consciousness on the part of the mirror.  If something comes, the mirror reflects; if it disappears, the mirror just lets it disappear ... no traces of anything are left behind.  Such non-attachment, the state of no-mind, or the truly free working of the mirror is compared here to the pure and lucid wisdom of the Buddha."  (08/16/2022)

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Zenkei Shibayama (柴山 全慶, Shibayama Zenkei; 1894 – 1974), a former Abbot of Nanzen-ji, was a Japanese Rinzai master well known for his commentary on the Mumonkan. One of his better-known students was Keido Fukushima, abbot of Tōfuku-ji. Shibayama also taught at Otani University and was the head abbot of the entire Nanzenji Organization, overseeing the administration of over five hundred temples.[1][2] Due to a number of lecture tours he undertook to the United States in the 1960s, and the translation of several of his books into English, Shibayama was a significant contributor to the establishment of Zen in America.

See also

Bibliography

  • Zen Comments on the Mumonkan. Harper & Row. 1974. ISBN 0-06-067279-X. OCLC 804989.
  • On Zazen Wasan: Hakuin's Song of Zazen. Kyoto. 1967. OCLC 2279785.
  • Shibayama, Zenkai; Gyokusei Jikihara (1967). Zen Oxherding Pictures. Tokyo: Sōgensha. OCLC 174614524.
  • A Flower Does Not Talk. Kyoto: Shibayama. 1966. OCLC 3836026.

Notes

  1.  Ford, 116-117
  2.  Loori, 344

References

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IN MEMORY OF SHIBAYAMA ZENKEI (1894-1974) By Kudo Sumiko from The Eastern Buddhist 8,1 (May 1975), pp. 149-154, with minor revisions On August 29th, 1974, Abbot Shibayama Zenkei of Nanzenji closed his life of eighty years. As the last poem he wrote reveals, he devoted his life to the work of compassion: Carrying snow and filling the well, For eighty-one years I have lived. Truly there is nothing special – I sleep with limbs outstretched. If one tries to fill a well with sand, however small the amount of sand one carries each time, the well will one day be full. If, however, one tries to fill it with snow, his efforts will never be rewarded, however hard he works. Still, such a sacred fool is the ideal image of man in Zen, and Shibayama Roshi actually lived the life of filling a well with snow, trying to transmit Zen both in Japan and abroad. Shibayama Zenkei was born in a village near Nagoya in 1894 as the first son of the Shibayamas, landowners of the area. He spent a happy childhood with good and considerate parents. While in elementary school his ambition was to be a general, a dream a great many boys had in those days. But he was not strong enough physically to enter junior military academy. One of his uncles was the Chief Abbot of Myoshinji in Kyoto and he must have impressed the young boy as a great man, for he decided that if he could not become a general, the next best thing would be to become a Zen abbot. Because he was very fond of learning, his mother, who was a devout Buddhist, thought it might be a good idea for her son to be a Zen monk. So when he was fourteen years old he was sent to a nearby Zen temple as an apprentice monk. When later he entered the Rinzai sect's college in Kyoto (now Hanazono University) and studied Zen, everyone thought he would turn out to be a good monk. As he grew older, however, he became critical of various aspects prevalent in the traditional Buddhist organizations in Japan, and found he could not just naively follow the usual course in becoming a monk. He began to study Christianity, and entered a Christian college. In those days there was a Christian movement led by Kagawa Toyohiko which advocated helping the poor by living among them. He agreed with this movement, and was ready to join them. It was partly due to physical reasons that he did not, but it was mostly because of his mother's earnest pleas against leaving the priesthood. Shibayama Roshi was against the old sectarian interpretations of religion, and was interested in Ludwig Zamenhof's advocacy of one world with one language. He studied Esperanto, and became one of the best Esperanto speakers in all Japan. But such ideas were considered dangerous in those days, and his name appeared on the black list of the Secret Police. As he was searching various spiritual avenues in this way, he happened one day to hear a talk by a Zen abbot, Mamiya Roshi, in which he said: "If one could cover the whole world with calf leather, it would certainly be wonderful. Then you could go wherever you wanted without dirtying or hurting your feet. As an idea, it is wonderful, but in actuality, quite impossible. Rather than talking of leathering the whole world, why don't you put a good pair of shoes on your own feet. Why don't you train yourself and perfect your own personality? Then you can go to any corner of the world wearing good shoes, and work to save your fellow beings." It was this talk that made the young Shibayama decide to enter a Zen monastery and become a monk. He said it made him realize how foolish he was, just talking about the idealistic impossibility of saving the whole world unaware that he in fact had neither the power, the ability, nor the wisdom to actually accomplish it. In 1916 he entered Nanzenji Monastery, and for over ten years went through hard training under Abbot Kono Bukai, noted as a very severe master. Finishing his monastery training, he turned to the academic study of Zen, later becoming a professor at Hanazono University, and also at Otani University as a successor to Suzuki Daisetz. In 1948, after ten years of university teaching, he was invited back to Nanzenji Monastery as Roshi, Zen master in charge of training monks, and in 1959, he was elected the head abbot of the Nanzenji organization of temples. In that capacity he was widely respected as one of the leading Zen masters of contemporary Japan. Shibayama Zenkei was a rare example of a Zen man in whom refined personality, penetrating insight, profound experience, and high learning were all wonderfully combined. He was a compassionate and understanding religious teacher who awakened love and peace in the hearts of all who came in touch with him. He was a strict Roshi who guided his disciples always from the genuine Zen standpoint, never yielding to any immature understanding, whether intellectual, psychological, or emotional. As a scholar he was one of the few Zen monks with a philosophical basis and creative thinking based on long and diligent study. Any mention of Shibayama Zenkei must include reference to the overseas activities in which he was engaged towards the end of his life. I was fortunate enough to accompany him on these trips as his interpreter. It is said that "Silence is more suitable to Zen than eloquence." Every year since 1965, Shibayama Roshi flew to the United States with the wish of transmitting Zen to the West. For this, speech and eloquence were not suitable. "Zen is not something that can be explained and understood; a talk or two on Zen in the United States would mean nothing," he said as he traveled the American continent from west to east, north to south, giving talks on Zen at various American colleges and universities. Although he was warmly received with goodwill and friendship everywhere, for an aged Roshi over seventy years old, three months of travel from one school to another with changes of climate and different food was not easy. It was certainly the picture of an old sacred fool trying to fill a well with snow. When the late Suzuki Daisetz was over ninety and he realized that the task of introducing Zen thought to the West was becoming too strenuous for him, he recognized that there was more and more need for an authentic Zen master to go abroad and provide practical guidance. Thus he turned to Shibayama Roshi. While agreeing that the idea was a good one, Shibayama Roshi felt that he was too old for the job, and, when a trip was proposed to him by the Hazen Foundation, he had misgivings about not being enough of a scholar to deliver the required lectures. Yet in January 1965, he left Japan on his first trip to the United States, unable to refuse any longer the earnest requests of Dr. Suzuki and the Foundation members. On this first occasion we visited the University of Hawaii, Claremont, Carleton College, Earlham College, Atlanta University, Duke, Colgate, and Wesleyan University, with the Roshi giving talks on such subjects as "Characteristics of Zen," "Freedom in Zen," "Training in Zen," and "The Ideal Image of Man in Zen." We stayed at one school from a week to ten days, during which time Roshi delivered public lectures, held seminars, and talked personally with many students and professors. The lecture hall was usually full, and the hour-long talk, including translation, was always followed by a period of lively questions and answers. Seeing learned professors, authorities in the field of religious studies, raising their hands high in the very first row together with the students, Shibayama Roshi was at first rather surprised, as this was something he had never experienced in Japan. He disliked by nature pedantry, pretension, Zen-monkishness or anything of that sort. Without any ostentation, he would give true Zen answers. His attitude, or personality, naturally impressed the audience. The sincere but initially slightly stiff atmosphere of the hall was soon a congenial gathering of friends, as the audience got in touch with the essence of Zen in the person of the Roshi, not as a concept or as philosophy, but as a living fact. One student said, "l don't know much about Zen. If, however, it is Zen that has produced such a man, it must be a great religion." Another, from the Middle West, telephoned us after a lecture, and said, "During the last war we heard a lot about the Japanese people, which made us form an image of them as an uncivilized, cruel people. Today, watching you talking on the stage, I realized that here is someone talking and living Truth. Here is a true human being in whom there is no distinction of American and Japanese. I am calling because I wanted to tell you this." Thus Shibayama Roshi's first trip to the United States was successful. Many thought it would be extremely difficult to transmit the essence of a religion or a philosophy with Zen's long tradition to people of a different cultural background, especially if this had to be done using an interpreter. Shibayama Roshi overcame all barriers with real Zen insight. He received many invitations to return to the States, and he found himself making annual visits for eight years. Yale, Southern Methodist, Vanderbilt and others were added to the list of schools. When he first went to the United States it was still the time of a so-called Zen boom. "Zen" was a favorite term of avant-garde artists. At the beginning many must have come to his talks curious to see an Oriental "Zen master." Soon, however, such students decreased in number. Audiences came to listen with a sincere and genuine aspiration. They wanted to know what Zen really was and to find if it had any significance for their own lives. There were many more requests for personal interviews than Roshi could accept in spite of his desire to see them all. Faculty interest increased as well, and special study meetings with specialists in the fields of religion and philosophy were held, where a Zen Roshi and authorities on Christianity, theology, and Western philosophy would have heart-to-heart talks and try to understand each other correctly. Though this was exhausting for him, he was very grateful for these opportunities, as he learned a great deal from them. We realized that when we thought we had come to the point where we could really understand each other, it was in fact the time we were made aware of our differences – how differently we feel, think, and react. One of the most significant experiences during these trips was the special student sesshin (intensive training period) at Colgate University. As the interest of students changed from mere curiosity to genuine spiritual quest, their wish for Zen training and some glimpse of Zen experience became greater. At their strong wish, Zen training was included in Colgate's Special Study Program. When we arrived at snow-covered Hamilton, New York, on January 7th, 1970, twenty-five students, who had spent the first week of January in reading assigned books on Zen, were waiting for us. The second week began with the first student sesshin led by Shibayama Roshi. Each day there was three hours of Zazen and a teisho (Zen talk) in the morning, afternoon was for individual studies and personal interviews with Roshi, followed by two hours of Zazen in the evening. For three weeks all the members stayed in their dormitories and could not leave the campus. Although this was not in accordance with the ordinary temple sesshin in Japan, still it was not an easy schedule students with casual interest could join. Zazen, especially, was difficult for the American youths unaccustomed to the full-lotus sitting posture. Yet they came to the Zen Hall in the Chapel House on the top of the hill, cheeks red in the freezing morning temperatures. There were no dropouts throughout the three weeks. Every morning Shibayama Roshi would give his teisho on the Mumonkan, give practical instructions on Zazen, and personally correct their Zazen postures. A Zen teisho is completely different from a lecture, if a lecture is thought of as being for the purpose of philosophically or conceptually explaining Zen. In a monastery, teisho is an occasion for a Zen master to present his Zen experience and spirituality directly and concretely before the students, so as to inspire strong spiritual searching. The students listened to the living teisho of a true Zen master, forgetting themselves and the pain in their legs. When the three-week sesshin was over, and the time for Roshi to leave the campus came, a student said, "Having known that a man like you actually lives among us, I now have hope and trust in human beings." Another said, "This sesshin is certainly the highlight of my life so far. I am glad I came to this univerisity, so I could join the sesshin and come to know you." They asked Shibayama Roshi to leave his teisho in the form of a book so that not only they but many other students in the West might share the opportunity with them. At their earnest requests and the persuasion of Dr. Kenneth Morgan, who promised that he would spare no efforts in helping him complete the book, Shibayama Roshi finally agreed to write Zen Comments on the Mumonkan, a complete translation of the Mumonkan with his teisho on each of the forty-eight koan. Though busy as Chief Abbot over some five hundred Zen temples, for three years he worked at this translation, concentrating on the work during winter months on the island of Hawaii, and for a month in summer in the mountains of Japan. Together with the Hekigan-roku, the Mumonkan has been studied and treasured by Zen students as an authentic text for training. There are many books about Zen in English, but no translations of classic Zen texts with Zen masters' comments have so far been available in English. We worked on it day and night. Ambiguous or random translations would never do, a grasp of every sentence, and every word, was required. It was like having sanzen (Zen interview) with Roshi everyday. What makes Zen Comments on the Mumonkan most significant is Shibayama Roshi's own teisho on each koan and on Master Mumon's commentary. He could not give the usual teisho he would give to the monks at a Japanese monastery using traditional Zen terms. Readers would mostly be American students, highly intelligent but with a completely different cultural background and way of thinking. His constant concern was how Zen could be correctly transmitted to such readers. The work lamp burned until after midnight. Often, I would wake up after a few hours and find the light on in his room. Quietly opening the door, I would see him already working at his desk at three or four o'clock in the morning. The three winters we went to Hawaii he did not go out for sightseeing even once. The best I could manage was to take him out for an hour walk in the evenings. The manuscript of Zen Comments on the Mumonkan was completed in January 1973, with the unstinting help of Dr. Morgan. Receiving the first copy of the beautifully completed book in May 1974, Shibayama Roshi looked happy, and said, "It turned out nicely. This will be the greatest work of my life. I am grateful for all who helped me to complete it." Soon after this, he was taken ill and had to be moved into a hospital in Kyoto. In June he underwent two emergency operations, but to the great dismay of his disciples and friends, he passed away on August 29th, 1974, at the age of eighty. Shibayama Roshi was certainly a great man, and uniquely so. Yet he was an "ordinary man," who attained his Zen personality only after long and diligent training, an example showing that a man actually can live a life of prajna (wisdom) and karuna (compassion). His warm, gentle smile is gone. Shibayama Roshi does live, however, in his friends and followers, or rather, what lives there is something prior to any such naming, an ever unnamable 'it' that, gratefully, keeps on living.

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"A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms."

Zenkei Shibayama, a Japanese Rinzai Zen master, shared profound insights on mindfulness, self-realization, and the nature of life. Some of his most notable quotes include:
On simplicity and natural growth:

  • "A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms. Silently a flower blooms, in silence it falls away; yet here now, at this moment, at this place, the world of the flower, the whole of the world is blooming. The glory of eternal life is fully shining here." This emphasizes living authentically without comparison or attachment to outcomes A-Z Quotes+1.
    On Zen and self-realization:
  • "Zen is the way of complete self-realization; a living human being who follows the way of Zen can attain satori and then live a new life as a Buddha." This highlights the transformative power of Zen practice in achieving enlightenment and inner peace A-Z Quotes+2.
    On peace of mind and acceptance:
  • "True peace of mind can be obtained only when one is personally awakened to the stark-naked fact that every effort is ultimately in vain." Shibayama teaches that acceptance of impermanence and the limits of effort leads to genuine tranquility A-Z Quotes+2.
    On perception and non-attachment:
  • "The mirror is thoroughly egoless and mindless. If a flower comes it reflects a flower, if a bird comes it reflects a bird. Everything is revealed as it is. There is no discriminating mind or self-consciousness on the part of the mirror. If something comes, the mirror reflects. If it disappears, the mirror just lets it disappear… no traces of anything are left behind." This metaphor illustrates the Zen ideal of observing reality without clinging or judgment onejourney.net.
    These quotes reflect Shibayama’s teachings on mindfulness, impermanence, and the beauty of living fully in the present moment. They are drawn from his works such as A Flower Does Not Talk: Zen Essays and his lectures on Zen practice 

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