Seven-character Quatrain, “Passing Xihu (West Lake) at Night”

Sakugen Shūryō (1501-1579) was a Zen monk of the Rinzai sect during the Sengoku period. He was also known as Kensai, Kiin, and others. He traveled twice to the Ming Dynasty as an envoy on behalf of Ōuchi Yoshitaka. It is said that he was trusted by Sengoku Daimyō (Japanese military lord) such as Ōuchi Yoshitaka and Oda Nobunaga. It was he who selected the name of Gifu at the request of Oda Nobunaga. Upon the request of Takeda Shingen, he resided at Erinji Temple in Kai. Later, he retired to Tenryūji Myōchiin Temple. The record of his travels is clearly documented in “Sakugen Nyūminki,” a valuable historical document on trade between Japan and the Ming Dynasty (designated as a National Important Cultural Property and owned by Myōchiin Temple). He excelled in poetry and writing, and authored “Kensai Shishū” and other works. He was a Zen monk who, along with Ninjo Shūgyō, contributed to the final period of the Five Mountain’s literature.

This document is called ‘Passing Xi Hu (west Lake) at Night’ (also known as ‘Seiko shi’). It is a Chinese poem written by Sakugen during his lifetime in the Ming dynasty China, where he vividly depicted a scene of Xī Hú. Xī Hú (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang province) has long been celebrated as one of the ‘Ten scenic spots of Xī Hú,’ and serves as the inspiration for this poem. Seiko shi is one of Sakugen’s most famous Chinese poems, and there are several similar poems in existence, including one in Tenryūji Myōchiin Temple. It is likely that Sakugen composed this poem in response to requests from others.
The upper part of the paper is damaged, and the first character is missing in a line. The missing line has been filled in from other Seiko shi in the collection of Tenryūji Myōchiin Temple and others (Tayama Hōnan, “Zenrin Bokuseki Shūi,” Shibunkaku, 1978).

This material was published in “Nihon Bokuseki Taikan, vol. 10,” edited by Komatsu Shigemi (Kōdansha, 1978).