Bibliography
- The original text is in four volumes in the Nichibunken Library (call number HM/175/Gi). The entire text has been reproduced in digital text, but emendations have been added by referring to “popular versions” (rufubon). The dividing line between the third and fourth volumes differs between the Nichibunken collection copy and the rufubon, with the Eitoku 3 (1383) and Shitoku 1 (1384) entries appearing in the fourth volume of the Nichibunken collection work. Regarding this, the following is displayed: 巻4（流布本巻3相当）Volume 4 (corresponding to volume 3 in the rufubon).
- The original work at Nichibunken was formerly part of the collection of Kiun’in, a subtemple of Nanzenji temple in Kyoto and carries the seal of its collection: ”Ryūzan / Kiun’in” (square seal stamp). As it also bears the square seals “Kanda-ke zō” (Kanda Family Collection), “Nobuatsu shi-in” (Private Stamp of Nobuatsu), and “Meiji nijū-san nen in” (Stamp of Meiji 23), it appears that the work passed into Kanda Nobuatsu’s (1854–1918) hands in 1890. Also, the annotation of the character拉 in the third day, fifth month of Eitoku 1 (1381) has an inserted note reading “拉、力答切、折也、字典、諺言邀入同行曰 拉,” a note not found in the rufubon. Since it would appear that the “字典” here refers to the Kangxi Dictionary compiled in 1716 by the Kangxi Emperor of Qing China, it appears that the Nichibunken edition of the diary was copied in the late Edo period, between eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Kūge rōshi nichiyō kufū ryakushū
This work is the diary of Gidō Shūshin (1325–1388), a Rinzai sect monk who served as head priest at temples in the Five Mountains (Gozan) system in Kamakura and Kyoto during the Northern and Southern Courts (Nanboku-chō) period. Gidō is regarded as one of the leading Five Mountains monks during the latter part of the period. His poetry collection Kūgeshū and lecture collection Gidō oshō goroku are—along with the works of his peer Zekkai Chūshin (1334–1405)—known as the leading examples of Five Mountains literature. Ryakushū is the oldest extant diary of a Zen monk. Furthermore, it is a historical resource of a value that is difficult to match for conveying the state of the Kamakura and Muromachi bakufu during the Northern and Southern Courts period.
Notes on the Kūge rōshi nichiyō kufū ryakushū:
Jūzenshi roku
This work collects lectures by Rinzai sect monk Kokan Shiren (1278–1346). It was compiled by a disciple of Kokan. Kokan was a prominent learned priest during the early Five Mountains' era who resided at the Kyoto temples Sanshō-ji, Tōfuku-ji, and Nanzen-ji. He is also known for having compiled the first Japanese work of Buddhist history, Genkō Shakusho. Considerable research has been carried out on Kokan's scholarship and thought. In particular, his poetry collection Saihokushū is regarded as an essential work in view of early Five Mountains culture. His collections of sayings, Jūzenshi roku and Zoku zenshi roku, on the other hand, have not be reprinted to date, and so on this occasion they are being made available digitally through this database.
Zoku zenshi roku
This work collects lectures by Rinzai sect monk Kokan Shiren (1278–1346), and represents a follow-up to the lecture collection Jūzenshi roku. It was compiled by a disciple of Kokan. It is composed of lectures on six of the ten chapters included in Jūzenshi roku:kaidō (first lectures by novice priests), jōdō (lectures on formal Zen topics given by a head priest), shōsan (lectures on informal topics by a lead priest), shinso (lectures from the high seat), nentei (instruction and analysis with old precepts and kōan), ritchi (standing lectures ), and gesan (verses extolling the virtues of Buddhist teachings). The volume does not include lectures on the remaining four gateways of fusetsu (ordinary lectures on doctrine to guide novices), hōgo (words that conform to the correct principles of Buddhist teachings), taiki (speech adjusted to the level of the listener), and hinpotsu (lectures by head priests to practitioners at Zen temples). The volume is also appended with a biography of Kokan titled Kokan oshō gyōjō written by Mugan So'ō (40th chief priest of Tōfuku-ji; ? —1374). The jōdō and hōgo lectures date to the era (1335–1341) in which Kokan resided at Sanshō-ji and Tōfuku-ji both for the second time and was head priest of Nanzen-ji. However, it is possible that the gesan and other lectures include among them ones that were delivered after he retired from Nanzen-ji. A facsimile edition of this work was included in volume 14 of Riben wushanban hanji shanben jikan published in 2012 by People's Publishing House in China. However, it was not transliterated in type.
Kaizō oshō kinenroku
This work is a chronological biography of Rinzai sect monk Kokan Shiren (1278–1346). It was compiled by Kokan's successor as abbot Ryōsen Ryōzui (32nd chief priest of Manjū-ji; ?–1364). The work is of great value as a historical record even for the biography of monk from the Northern and Southern Courts (Nanboku-chō) period. It also includes many articles related to Jūzenshi roku and Zoku zenshi roku. The work is well known, as it was included in volume 9, scroll 232 of Zoku gunsho ruijū. However, due to the fact that the subsequent printed version of Zoku Gunsho ruijū contained numerous errors, the entire original text has been reprinted for this database.
Works consulted:
Tamamura Takeji, “Kūge nikkushū kō: Betsushōhon oyobi ryakushū ihon ni tsuite” [A Study of Kūge rōshi nichiyō kufū shū] in Nihon Zenshūshi Ronshū [Collection of Historical Treatises on Japanese Zen], part 1 of vol. 2 (Kyoto: Shibunkaku Shuppan, 1979), and Enomoto Wataru, “Nikki to sōden no aida” [Between Diaries and the Biographies of Monks], in Kuramoto Kazuhiro, ed. Nikki, kokiroku no sekai [The World of Diaries and Old Accounts] (Kyoto: Shibunkaku Shuppan, 2014).