The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2193 page)

(Jap., ‘collecting the heart-mind’). Days in Zen monasteries of particularly concentrated practice.

 
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(1420–1506).
A major Japanese Zen painter, considered by many the greatest master. He entered a Zen monastery when 12 and was trained at Sh
kokuji in
Ky
to
. The control of his brush and line are a perfect expression of Zen control. ‘The Four Seasons’ is usually singled out as his masterpiece, but ‘Landscape in the Broken Ink Style’ (ibid. 129) is an equally superb achievement.

 
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(1288–1346).
Japanese Zen master of the
Rinzai
school. In 1306/7 he went to China, where he was imprisoned for ten years, but also sought instruction from different masters, before returning to become abbot of Engaku-ji and Nanzen-ji. He was a writer of considerable care and style who is considered one of the founders of the
gosan
-bungaku.

 
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(Jap.), the day before the beginning of spring, now celebrated on the 3 or 4 February. Setsubun, which means ‘seasonal division’, originally referred to the day before the beginning of the 24 divisions of the calendrical year, but it has become synonymous with the last day of the last division called
daikan
(great cold) which starts on the 20 or 21 January. On the eve of the beginning of spring (
risshun
) the evil spirits are expelled by the bean-throwing rite. This
exorcism
is called
tsuina
(Chinese,
chui-no
).

 
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(Jap., ‘explanatory stories’). Japanese stories of miraculous happenings which carry a moral message. They are frequently Buddhist. Important collections are
Nihon Ryoiki
(9th cent., written by a Buddhist monk, Kyokai,
Konjaku Monogatari
(12th cent.), and
Uji Shui Monogatari
(13th cent.). See also
DENSETSU
and
SHINWA
for other kinds of Japanese story.