# Chūgan Engetsu

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Japanese poet

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**Chūgan Engetsu** (中巌円月; January 28, 1300 – February 9, 1375), [Japanese poet](/source/Japanese_poet), occupies a prominent place in [Japanese Literature of the Five Mountains](/source/Japanese_Literature_of_the_Five_Mountains), literature in [Chinese](/source/Chinese_language) written in Japan. Chugan's achievement was his mastery of this difficult medium, a signal of the ripening of Five Mountains poetry and prose in Japan. He was born in [Kamakura](/source/Kamakura%2C_Kanagawa) of a family that claimed descent from [Emperor Kanmu](/source/Emperor_Kanmu) (r. 781–806). At age eight he entered the prestigious monetary of the [Zen](/source/Zen) [Rinzai sect](/source/Rinzai_school) in Kamakura as an acolyte. At twelve he was a disciple of Dokei. At this time Chugan began in earnest his Chinese studies, devoting himself to the *Classic of Filial Piety* and *[Analects](/source/Analects)*. He left for Kyushu hoping to travel to China, but did not succeed. After this disappointment he traveled to [Kyoto](/source/Kyoto) and met the reclusive patriarch [Kokan Shiren](/source/Kokan_Shiren) (1278–1346). In 1320 he realized his hopes for a journey to China that resulted in a seven-year study-tour of Zen masters and institutions. In 1332 Chugan returned in disgust to a Japan wracked by civil war and unrest. He chose for his residence the [Nanzenji](/source/Nanzen-ji) monastery in Kyoto. In 1339 he was asked to establish the [Kisshoji](/source/Kissh%C5%8D-ji) monastery. From this point until his death in 1375 he was residing as head of many of the Zen establishments in Japan. His writings reflect both a [Confucian](/source/Confucian) concern with social values and a Zen love of the ironic and iconoclastic.

## References

- Carpenter, Bruce E., "Clarity and Irony: Chugan Engetsu" in *Tezukayama University Review* (Tezukayama daigaku ronshū), no. 19, 1978, Tezukayama University, Nara, Japan, pp. 1–14. ISSN 0385-7743

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat National United States Japan

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chūgan Engetsu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABgan_Engetsu) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABgan_Engetsu?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.