Letter by Takuan Sōhō

Takuan Sōhō (1573-1645) was a Rinzai Zen monk of the Early Edo period. He was born in Tajima Province. Ordained as a child, he later studied under Shun’oku Sōen at Sangen’in of Daitokuji Temple, where he took the name Sōhō. In Keichō 8 (1603), he studied under Ittō Shōteki at Yōshunji Temple in Sakai, where he received the name Takuan along with dharma transmission. In Keichō 12 (1607), at the young age of 37, he was promoted to the 153rd resident priest of Daitokuji Temple but resigned after only three days. After this, he lived quietly in various places, including Nanshūji Temple in Sakai and Sūkyōji Temple in his hometown of Tajima.

In Kan’ei 3 (1626), Tokugawa Hidetada prohibited the promotion by royal command of Daitokuji and Myōshinji temples. However, Takuan took an aloof stance against the authorities, and in defiance of the shōgunate’s order, ordained his fellow monks at Daitokuji Temple. He repeatedly defended himself against the shōgunate and criticized its policies, which ultimately led to the issue of the Emperor’s permission to wear purple robes—an honor granted to highly virtuous monks and nuns by the Imperial Court—and Emperor Gomizunō’s abdication (Purple Robe Incident).

Takuan was implicated in the Purple Robe Incident and was exiled to Kaminoyama in Dewa Province (Yamagata Prefecture) in Kan’ei 6 (1629). After three years of exile, he was pardoned by a decree issued upon the death of Hidetada, the second shōgun of the Edo shōgunate, who was also the retired shōgun. In Kan’ei 14 (1637), Iemitsu, the third Edo shōgun, built Tōkaiji Temple in Shinagawa for Takuan and appointed him as its founder.

Takuan’s activities as a tea master of the Daitokuji School, along with his poetry and Bokuseki (calligraphy), are well known. He also had many anecdotes involving swordsmen, such as Yagyū Munenori, and his book “Hudōchi-shinmyō-roku” was written for Munenori, explaining the relationship between sword and Zen.

This letter is addressed to a person named Tokuan (identity unknown). It is signed ‘Kōtokuin Takuan,’ but the identity of Kōtokuin Temple is also unclear. It may refer to Kōtokuan Temple in Sakai, founded by Takuan’s master Ittō, or to Kōtokuji Temple in Kanda, Edo, where Takuan temporarily took refuge after being pardoned from the Purple Robe Incident. The content of the letter is as follows: he expresses his gratitude for the meeting the previous day and states that he will send an emissary to convey his thoughts to Tokuan regarding their discussion. In a postscript to the letter (the first sentence of the letter), he mentions tea, suggesting that drinking tea was a common activity in the lives of Zen monks.