The “Life of Dogen” published in the Sofukanji inrui or Genealogy of Zen Monks Classified by the Sound of the First Chinese Character of Each Name edited by Hangyo Kozen

Abstract

Hangyo Kozen (1625-93) was the thirty-fifth abbot of Eiheiji Monastery. He edited and published the Sofukanji inrui or Genealogy of Zen Monks Classified by the Sound of the First Chinese Character of Each Name comprising 150 volumes (100 books) when he was the chief priest of Takanawa Sengakuji Temple in Edo for ten years. The genealogy included about five hundred Chinese Zen monks who were classified by the sound of the first Chinese character of each name. These biographies were collected by using 162 old and valuable materials. Volume 88 contains a “Life of Zen Master Dogen, ” the founder of Japanese Soto Zen. But no one has noticed this “Life of Dogen” in the Sofukanji inrui until now.
In this “Life of Dogen” his father is stated to have been Koga Michichika, his mother to have been the daughter of Fujiwara Motofusa and his uncle on his mother's side to have been Ryokan, the eighth son of Fujiwara Motofusa. This article examines these materials.