Designated Cultural Property of Sakata City
Sōen Shunoku
Acquired in 1965 (donated by the Homma family)
Sōen Shunoku (1529–1611) was a Rinzai Zen monk of the Momoyama period and the 111th head priest of Daitoku-ji Temple. He was given the highest acclaim of National Teacher Taihō Enkan by Emperor Go-Yōzei. His many pupils included Sen no Rikyū (the politically influential tea master who first codified the chanoyu way of tea ceremony), Oribe Furuta (a daimyō and disciple of Rikyū), and Sen no Sōtan (the grandson and third-generation successor of Rikyū).
“Minsai” had been inscribed on a hengaku plaque in the study of an enlightened elder. When asked what it meant, Shunoku responded by writing a short ge of four words and four phrases. A ge is a Buddhist poem praising the merits of the Buddha.
This property was handed down to the Homma family from the Sakai family of the Shōnai Domain.