Birthdate: February 1, 1394
Ikkyuu came from one of those complicated aristocratic situations—his father was Emperor Go-Komatsu, his mother a minor court noblewoman who had to disappear. She fled to Saga while he stayed behind, raised by servants in Kyoto's suburbs. At five years old, he was sent to Ankoku-ji, a Rinzai Zen temple in the city, to become an acolyte. The temple went hard on what they called Gozan Zen, which meant a heavy emphasis on Chinese culture, language, poetry, and art alongside Buddhist training. He went by the name Shuken during those early years.
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