The Importance of Imports

This chapter explores the cultural identity of Ōbaku Zen, which played a crucial role in the sixteenth century as a vehicle for importing Chinese culture. This was manifested in Manpukuji’s initial trove of material culture associated with the temple’s founder, Ingen Ryūki (Ch. Yinyuan Longqi, 1592–1684). It also touches upon the reception and legacy of Ingen’s material objects to demonstrate how naturalized into Japanese life Ōbaku’s presence became. This greatly affected other sectarian traditions and even diverse aspects of Japanese intellectual and artistic life and popular culture outside the religious sphere from the Tokugawa era up to the present.