Keian Genju (桂庵玄樹)
Genju KEIAN (1427-July 8, 1508) was a priest of the Rinzai sect of Buddhism in Japan, who formed the Satsunan School (school of Neo-Confucian in Satsuma).
Genju KEIAN was born in Akamagaseki, Suo Province. Becoming a priest at the age of 16, he studied under Shurin KEIJO and Isho Tokugan of Nanzen-ji Temple in Kyoto. After that, he went to Manju-ji Temple in Bungo Province for study, and in 1467, went across the sea to Ming to study in Suzhou City and other places. He returned to Japan in 1473, but escaped to Iwami Province to avoid the ravages of the Onin War. In 1478, he was invited by Tadamasa SHIMAZU to become a chief priest of the Shoko-ji Temple in Osumi Province and the Ryugen-ji Temple in Hyuga Province. Furthermore, he was invited by Tadakado SHIMAZU to lecture on Confucianism at Keiju-in Temple in Satsuma Province. He became famous as the founder of the Satsunan School as he was committed to the propagation of Sogaku (Neo-Confucianism) by publishing "Daigaku shoku" with Shigesada IJICHI in 1481.
"Bunshi-ten" are guiding marks for rendering Chinese into Japanese, that were created by Kiyo Hoshu, the first in Japan to lecture on "Shisho Shicchu" by Chu His, and these were then corrected by Genju KEIAN and revised by Bunshi Gensho. Bunshi-ten became the mainstream way of reading the Four Books of Confucianism in the early-modern times.
Later, Genju KEIAN became the chief priest of Kennin-ji Temple and Nanzen-ji Temple, constructed Toki-an in Satsuma in 1502, and lived there. He died in 1508 at the age of 82. His books include "Kaho Waten," "島陰文集," "島隠漁唱" among many others.