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*''Japanese/Chinese'': 黄檗 ''(Oubaku, Huángbò)''
*''Japanese/Chinese'': 黄檗 ''(Oubaku, Huángbò)''
Ôbaku is a sect of [[Zen]] Buddhism introduced to Japan in the [[Edo period]] and long associated (even more strongly than other sects of Buddhism) with [[Ming dynasty]] China. Though initially introduced to Japan by Ming monk [[Yinyuan Longqi]], who established the [[Kofuku-ji (Nagasaki)|Kôfuku-ji]] in [[Nagasaki]] in [[1624]] and then the [[Manpuku-ji]] in [[Uji]] (near Kyoto) in [[1661]], and having some notable prominence through the Edo period, Ôbaku was only officially recognized as a separate sect in [[1876]].<ref>Rebeckah Clements, "Speaking in Tongues? Daimyo, Zen Monks, and Spoken Chinese in Japan, 1661–1711," The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 76, No. 3 (August) 2017: 609.</ref>
Ôbaku is a sect of [[Zen]] Buddhism introduced to Japan in the [[Edo period]] and long associated (even more strongly than other sects of Buddhism) with [[Ming dynasty]] China. Initially introduced to Japan by Ming monk [[Yinyuan Longqi]], who established the [[Kofuku-ji (Nagasaki)|Kôfuku-ji]] in [[Nagasaki]] in [[1624]] and then the [[Manpuku-ji]] in [[Uji]] (near Kyoto) in [[1661]], it was long considered to be part of the [[Rinzai]] school of Zen, and was only officially recognized as a separate sect in [[1876]].<ref name=clements609>Rebeckah Clements, "Speaking in Tongues? Daimyo, Zen Monks, and Spoken Chinese in Japan, 1661–1711," The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 76, No. 3 (August) 2017: 609.</ref> Ôbaku practice shares much in common with Rinzai, but emphasizes the chanting of the name of [[Amida]] (Amitabha, Amida Buddha) more than typical Rinzai traditions.<ref name=clements609/>
The first Ôbaku temple established in Japan was the Kôfuku-ji in Nagasaki, in 1624. Another temple known as [[Sofuku-ji|Sôfuku-ji]] was then established, also in Nagasaki, shortly afterwards, in order to serve the Chinese (and in particular [[Fujian province|Fujianese]]) community there.
The first Ôbaku temple established in Japan was the Kôfuku-ji in Nagasaki, in 1624. Another temple known as [[Sofuku-ji|Sôfuku-ji]] was then established, also in Nagasaki, shortly afterwards, in order to serve the Chinese (and in particular [[Fujian province|Fujianese]]) community there.
In [[1661]], the [[Konoe family]] of [[kuge|court nobles]] granted Yinyuan Longqi - chief priest of the Wanfu-si (J: Manpuku-ji) temple on Mt. Huangbo (J: Ôbaku) in Fujian province - land in Uji on which to build a new temple.<ref>Marius Jansen, China in the Tokugawa World, Harvard University Press (1992), 55-56.</ref> Manpuku-ji would then become the chief center of Ôbaku Zen in Japan, as well as a major center of Chinese calligraphy, Chinese tea practices, and Ming culture otherwise. Up until [[1740]], the chief priests (abbots) of Manpuku-ji were always ethnic Chinese; after that, they alternated with Japanese priests. The [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shoguns]] regularly called upon these abbots to be seen in audience at [[Edo castle]]; whatever these ceremonies may have meant for the monks, the shogunate used such audiences as a tool for enhancing Tokugawa legitimacy - with the Chinese monks of Manpuku-ji as ostensible representatives of the (fallen) Ming dynasty, the shogunate was able to construct a discourse of highly cultivated, refined, representatives of Ming culture paying respects to, and recognizing the authority of, the Tokugawa shoguns.<ref>Jiang Wu, ''Leaving for the Rising Sun: Chinese Zen Master Yinyuan and the Authenticity Crisis in Early Modern East Asia'', Oxford University Press, 2014.</ref>
In [[1661]], the [[Konoe family]] of [[kuge|court nobles]] granted Yinyuan Longqi - chief priest of the Wanfu-si (J: Manpuku-ji) temple on Mt. Huangbo (J: Ôbaku) in Fujian province - land in Uji on which to build a new temple.<ref>Marius Jansen, China in the Tokugawa World, Harvard University Press (1992), 55-56.</ref> Manpuku-ji would then become the chief center of Ôbaku Zen in Japan, as well as a major center of Chinese calligraphy, Chinese tea practices, and Ming culture otherwise. Up until [[1740]], the chief priests (abbots) of Manpuku-ji were always ethnic Chinese; after that, they alternated with Japanese priests. The [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shoguns]] regularly called upon these abbots to be seen in audience at [[Edo castle]]; whatever these ceremonies may have meant for the monks, the shogunate used such audiences as a tool for enhancing Tokugawa legitimacy - with the Chinese monks of Manpuku-ji as ostensible representatives of the (fallen) Ming dynasty, the shogunate was able to construct a discourse of highly cultivated, refined, representatives of Ming culture paying respects to, and recognizing the authority of, the Tokugawa shoguns.<ref>Jiang Wu, ''Leaving for the Rising Sun: Chinese Zen Master Yinyuan and the Authenticity Crisis in Early Modern East Asia'', Oxford University Press, 2014.</ref>
Though the shogunate maintained strict regulations against the establishment of new temples, it was more lenient about existing temples changing their affiliation; over the course of 1665-1745, more than one thousand temples in Japan declared themselves Ôbaku temples.<ref>This number was still dwarfed by the numbers of Rinzai and [[Soto Zen|Sôtô Zen]] temples, however. Clements, 609.</ref>
Monks of the Manpuku-ji also played a prominent role in teaching vernacular Chinese, classical Chinese, and other Chinese cultural forms to daimyô such as [[Shimazu Shigehide]] and [[Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu]], among others, whether being called to Edo, or being visited at Manpuku-ji by such figures.
Monks of the Manpuku-ji also played a prominent role in teaching vernacular Chinese, classical Chinese, and other Chinese cultural forms to daimyô such as [[Shimazu Shigehide]] and [[Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu]], among others, whether being called to Edo, or being visited at Manpuku-ji by such figures.
