[FN#98] The So To Sect was not wanting in competent teachers, for it
might take pride in its Ten-kei (1648-1699), whose religious insight
was unsurpassed by any other master of the age; in its Shi getsu, who
was a commentator of various Zen books, and died 1764; in its Men-zan
(1683-1769), whose indefatigable works on the exposition of So To Zen
are invaluable indeed; and its Getsu-shu (1618-1696) and Man-zan
(1635-1714), to whose labours the reformation of the faith is
ascribed. Similarly, the Rin Zai Sect, in its Gu-do (1579-1661); in
its Isshi (1608-1646); in its Taku-an (1573-1645), the favourite
tutor of the third Shogun, Iye-mitsu; in its Haku-in (1667-1751), the
greatest of the Rin Zai masters of the day, to whose extraordinary
personality and labour the revival of the sect is due; and its To-rei
(1721-1792), a learned disciple of Haku-in. Of the important Zen
books written by these masters, Ro-ji-tan-kin, by Ten-kei;
Men-zan-ko-roku, by Men-zan; Ya-sen-kwan-wa, Soku-ko-roku,
Kwai-an-koku-go, Kei-so-doku-zui, by Haku-in; Shu-mon-mu-jin-to-ron,
by To-rei, are well known.


It was about the middle of this period that the forty-seven vassals
of Ako displayed the spirit of the Samurai by their perseverance,
self-sacrifice, and loyalty, taking vengeance on the enemy of their
deceased lord. The leader of these men, the tragic tales of whom can
never be told or heard without tears, was Yoshi-o (O-ishi died 1702),
a believer of Zen,[FN#99] and his tomb in the cemetery of the temple
of Sen-gaku-ji, Tokyo, is daily visited by hundreds of his admirers.
Most of the professional swordsmen forming a class in these days
practised Zen. Mune-nori[FN#100](Ya-gyu), for instance, established
his reputation by the combination of Zen and the fencing art.