260 CHAPTER TENextent of supporting this order, but were not to pass judgment on the govern-
ment or disturb social peace and unity in any way.
The rise of Confucianism under the Tokugawas can be explained both by
what was perceived as the Buddhist-inspired disunity of the previous century,
and by the success that the Ming dynasty had in using neo-Confucianism to
unite China. Neo-Confucian scholars inJapan managed to separate them-
selves from the Zen monks who had been their teachers and to devise an
anti-Buddhist, pro-Shinto version of their philosophy to serve the new gov-
ernment's needs.
On the surface, Tokugawa policy seemed to support Buddhism. For ex-
ample, all families were required to register as members of a Buddhist temple
of any sect. An edict was published denouncing the activities of Christian mis-
sionaries and noting that Japan was essentially a Buddhist and Shinto nation.
In actuality, the registration of families was a means of keeping tabs on the
population and preventing proselytizing by any religious group. No one was
allowed to change religious affiliation without the entire household changing.
Clerics became not only census takers but also government informers. Al-
though the state used Buddhist institutions as an arm ofits policy, it provided
them with no financial support.
In the midst of this bleak situation, a number of individual Buddhists
shined. In 1654, Yin-yuan Lung-ch'i (Ingen Ryuki; 1592-1673) came to
Japan and founded a new Zen sect, the Obaku sect, which combined Rinzai
and Pure Land teachings. This helped revivify the almost dormant state of
Japanese Soto and Rinzai. In the provinces, Bankei Yotaku (1622-93) taught
that Rinzai practice consisted simply ofletting things be while one dwelled in
the innate "knowingness" of the mind, which Bankei equated with the Un-
born Buddha-mind. This made Zen more widely accessible to the general
populace. Rinzai's new social status, tied more closely to commoners, was re-
flected in the fact that the Zen style of this period was totally dominated by its
more rustic version, in which spiritual significance was sought in the most or-
dinary, mundane details, rather than in fastidious sophistication. The best ex-
emplar of this style is the poet Matsuo Basho ("Banana Tree"; 1644-94), the
foremost practitioner of the art of haiku poetry. Assuming in the fourth decade
of his life the persona of a wandering Zen monk, he wrote travel essays record-
ing aesthetic experiences analogous to satori, composing short, impromptu
verses in an attempt to capture the transcendent in a single cluster of images.
His aesthetic emphasized the values oflightness, contented solitude, and an
appreciation of the commonplace. For example, late in his life he composed
the following reflection on no-self: "On this road I With no traveler I Au-
tumn night falls."
The most influential Zen practitioner of this period was Hakuin Ekaku
(1686-1769). An extremely high-strung, sensitive child, Hakuin entered the
monkhood at an early age and vigorously pursued koan study under numer-
ous masters (Strong EB, sec. 8.6). Controversy has ensued over whether any
of his masters certified his satori, but the broad nature of his training enabled