About the book: 2014 / Ikkyu Sojun (1394–1481) is perhaps the most famous Zen monk in Japan. According to the most famous version, he was the son of Go-Komatsu from a court lady of the Southern Court, but after the pacification of the Northern and Southern Courts he was exiled with his mother to the land of Saga, in Kyushu, as an inconvenient contender for the throne for the Ashikaga shoguns. During his life, Ikkyu met with many people who were at the origins of the formation of the culture of the Muromachi era - the actor, author of plays and creator of the aesthetic theory of the Noh theater Zeami Motokiyo (1363–1443), met with the author of Noh plays Komparu Zenchiku (1405–1471), who widely used Zen philosophy in his plays. Murata Juko (1422–1502), one of the founders of the tea ceremony, studied Zen with Ikkyu. Ikkyu's hobbies were extremely versatile; he was engaged in the composition of Chinese poetry, calligraphy, monochrome painting, played the shakuhachi flute and created compositions for it. Thus, Ikkyu not only spread the Zen view of the world through preaching, but also through the practical application of Zen philosophy had a huge influence on various spheres of culture and art..