April 3, 2022 is the Western calendar day when Master Yinyuan (Ingen), founder of the Japanese Obaku sect, passed away 350 years ago. A solemn ceremony has been held on that day at Manupukuji, Uji, Japan according to the Japanese Obaku tradition. The ceremony was officiated by the Obaku sect director-in-general and Manpukuji abbot Kondo Hiromichi and was attended by representatives from the Obaku temples in Japan. A video recording is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/k0CH-SrmnCA
For detailed information, see the official announcement at
https://www.obakusan.or.jp/information/2204, and
https://www.obakusan.or.jp/onki/
“Ingen was born in China in 1592 and got ordained as a monk at the age of 29. He later became a very important person in Chinese Zen Buddhism. Repeatedly asked from Japan, he finally came to Nagasaki when he was 63. At that time, Japanese Buddhism had become a mannerism, so it is said that a lot of Buddhist priests heard the news of his arrival and gathered in Nagasaki. Receiving the devotion of Emperor Go-Mizunoo and Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna, Ingen Zenji was offered a piece of land in Uji. Instead of returning to China, he decided to found Obaku-san Manpuku-ji and ended up making Japan his permanent home. Ingen Zenji introduced a lot of things to Japan such as art, medicine, architecture, music, history, literature, printing, sencha green tea, Buddhist cuisine, and so on. He influenced not only the religious society but also the whole Japanese culture.” Quoted from the Manpukuji official website at https://www.obakusan.or.jp/en/