Fuke Zen

Fuke Zen was a branch of Zen Buddhism which existed in Japan from the 13th century until the late 19th century. Fuke monks were noted for playing the shakuhachi flute as a form of meditation. It was characterized in the public imagination of Japan by the Fuke Zen monks playing the shakuhachi flute while wearing a large woven basket hat that covered their entire head as they went on pilgrimage.

Fuke Zen Media

• A begging criminal-J. M. W. Silver.jpg

  A komusō (monk of the Fuke sect) wearing a basket hat (天蓋 tengai or tengui) and playing the shakuhachi, as depicted by J. M. W. Silver

• Myoanji.jpg

  The entrance to Myōan-ji temple in Kyoto. Myōan-ji, a subsidiary of Tōfuku-ji, was the head temple of the Fuke sect, founded by the komusō Kyochiku Zenji.

• Komusō

• Komuso Buddhist monk beggar Kita-kamakura.jpg

  A Buddhist monk begging as a komusō

• A begging criminal-J. M. W. Silver.jpg

  Sketch of a komusō (right)