Keizan Jōkin

Keizan Jōkin (born Nov. 13, 1268, Echizen province [now in Fukui prefecture], Japan—died Sept. 22, 1325, Noto province [now in Ishikawa prefecture]) was a priest of the Sōtō sect of Zen Buddhism, who founded the Sōji Temple (now in Yokohama), one of the two head temples of the sect.

At the age of 12 Keizan entered the priesthood under Koun Ejō, the second head priest of the Eihei Temple (in modern Fukui prefecture), the headquarters of the sect. After the death of Koun Ejō, Keizan studied under Tettsū Gikai of the Daijō Temple and finally received the law of Buddha from him. After studying under Kohō Kakumyō, he returned to the Daijō Temple and there propagated the teachings of the Sōtō sect for 10 years, until he became the head priest of the Shogaku Temple (in modern Ishikawa prefecture).

Keizan gave the temple a new name, Shogaku-zan Sōji Temple, and affiliated it with the Sōtō sect in 1321. Later, when he preached to the emperor Go-Daigo on the Ten Questions on Buddhism, Sōji Temple became an imperial temple. It was destroyed by fire in 1898 and was rebuilt on the present site in Yokohama. Keizan devoted himself to establishing many temples, renewing the religious traditions of his sect, and popularizing the teachings of its founder, Dōgen. Under him the Sōtō sect developed rapidly and expanded to all corners of Japan. Now called Taiso (“Great Master”), he is worshiped as the restorer of the Sōtō sect. The main literary works of Keizan are explanations of Sōtō methods of meditation and daily monastic life.