Jien

Infobox Writer
name = Jien


imagesize =
caption = Jien in the "Hyakunin Isshu".
pseudonym =
birthdate = May 17, 1155
birthplace = Kyoto
deathdate = October 28, 1225
deathplace = Omi (now Shiga)
occupation = Buddhist monk
nationality =
period =
genre =
subject = Japanese history
movement =
spouse =
partner =
children =
relatives =
influences =
influenced =


website =

Jien ( _ja. 慈円) (17 May 1155 in Kyoto – 28 October 1225 in Omi (now Shiga)) was a Japanese poet, historian, and Buddhist monk.

Jien was born into the Fujiwara family of powerful aristocrats. He joined a Buddhist monastery of the Tendai sect early in his life, first taking the Buddhist name "Dokaie", and later changing it to "Jien".

He began to study and write Japanese history, his purpose being to "enlighten people who find it hard to understand the vicissitudes of life". His masterpiece, completed c. 1220, was humbly entitled, "Gukanshō", which translates as "Jottings of a Fool". In it he tried to analyze the facts of Japanese history.

The "Gukanshō" held a "mappo" and therefore pessimistic view of his age, The Feudal Period, and claimed that it was a period of religious decline and saw the disintegration of civilization. This is the viewpoint generally held today. Jien claimed that changes in the feudal structure were necessary and defended the shogun's claim of power.

ee also

*Japanese literature
*List of Japanese authors

References

* Brown, Delmer and Ichiro Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien (1221)] , "Gukanshō; "The Future and the Past: a translation and study of the 'Gukanshō,' an interpretive history of Japan written in 1219" translated from the Japanese and edited by Delmer M. Brown & Ichirō Ishida." Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
*Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Jien"