Itsunen Shoyu

Who was Itsunen Shoyu?

Itsunen Shoyu is famous as a Buddhist monk and painter who helped to establish Chan in Japan.

In 1642 he travelled to Nagasaki as a trader in Chinese medicine, and in 1644 entered Kōfuku-ji, becoming its 3rd abbot in 1645. In 1654 after multiple requests he succeeded in persuading Yinyuan Longqi, the 33rd abbot of Wanfu Temple to emigrate to Japan, where he founded Ōbaku, the third and final major Japanese Zen sect.

Itsunen was a talented late Ming style painter of Buddhist figural subjects, and is known to have copied works by Chen Xian brought to Japan by Yinyuan Longqi.