Founder of the Soto sect in Japan, founder of Eiheiji Temple in Echizen Province (Fukui Prefecture). Born in 1200 (Shoji 2), he was the son of Kuga Michichika, Minister of the Interior.
At the age of 13, he ascended Mt. Hiei to become a monk, and at 15, he visited Zen master Eisai at Kenninji Temple, and at 18, he received the guidance of Meizen at the same temple, In 1243, at the age of 44, he went to Shibi (Yoshida County) in Echizen Province and founded Eiheiji Temple, and in 1253, he became ill and entered Kyoto, where he died at the residence of his disciple Kakunen at the age of 54. He is the author of “Fugan Zazen-igi” and “Eiheiji Chiji Seiki” as well as “Shobogenzo” in 95 volumes. The Eiheiji Chiji Seiki is a strict set of regulations and rituals for shuzen, based on the Hyakjo Seiki, and contains many references to the tea ceremony, including the tea ceremony gyocha and the tea ceremony taza-cha-yu. According to legend, Shirozaemon Kagemasa Kato, who is said to be the founder of Seto pottery, was related to the Kuga family, from whom Dogen came, and accompanied Dogen on his trip to Song Dynasty China, where he passed on the pottery methods of that country. There is a legend that the one that was handed down from Dogen to the Kuga family is called “Dogen Kuga Hashirazu. There is also a famous textile called “Dogen-sakari” or “Dogen-donshi”.
