Ryokan

(1758 - 1831)

A Zen Buddhist priest known for his good humor and gentle nature, Ryokan spent much of his life traveling Japan as a mendicant monk, working on his calligraphy and poetry. In his final years, he returned to his native Echigo province. Three years before his death in 1831, an earthquake and floods struck northern Japan, an episode he marked with a poem: “When you meet with misfortune, / it is good to meet with misfortune. / When you die, / it is good to die. / This is the wonderful way / of escaping misfortune.”