◇ Ryokō Sasaki Shinshu Otani-ha Buddhist monk (poet), a disciple of Aritomo Chigusa, Gon-shō-kōgi (Assistant Lecturer) The 23rd chief priest of Shōgyō-ji Temple of the Shinshu Otani-ha sect in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Shinano Province. He rebuilt the burnt-down temple buildings over 15 years. In 1847, he studied Zen at the Takakura Gakuryo in Kyoto under Daiko Sōgen of Daitoku-ji Temple, and studied waka poetry under Aritomo Chigusa. In the 3rd year of Meiji (1870), during the Hai-butsu-kishaku (abolition of Buddhism) movement in the Matsumoto domain, many temples were abolished, and Buddhist statues and implements were destroyed, burned, or scattered. He was a monk who resisted while the chief priests were forced to return to farming. Among the priests who did not obey the domain's orders and boldly opposed them, Ryokō Sasaki (of Shōgyō-ji Temple) of the Shinshu sect was one of the most prominent. Ryokō Sasaki negotiated with the domain officials, stating that although temples had a head temple, he wondered how the domain was communicating with it, and that his own temple was of the middle head temple rank and had responsibility for its branch temples, so he could not comply with the domain's orders. He insisted that he had heard of the order to separate Shinto and Buddhism, but not of the order to abolish Buddhism, and Ryokō did not agree. Twenty-three Shinshu temples in the Matsumoto domain under the Azumi and Chikuma districts were spared from abolition. Ryokō lost his father at the age of 10, and at the age of 11, he lost his right eye due to illness. However, he succeeded his father and, in 1803, sought to rebuild the burnt-down main hall. He collected donations in Edo and Numazu, and construction began in 1842 and was completed in 1858. During that time, he went to Kyoto to study Zen and the Manyoshu. He held the position of Gon-shō-kōgi and was also in charge of supervising monks. From 1877, he became a member of a waka poetry club, writing and critiquing poems. At the age of 58, he lost sight in his other eye and became completely blind. In 1894, General Maresuke Nogi visited Shōgyō-ji Temple as the ancestral home of the Sasaki clan, and they corresponded with each other thereafter due to their common ancestry. He founded a waka poetry group (Matsumoto Poetry Society) in 1877 and taught even after losing his sight. His pen names were Take-tsubo and Shōen. Born in 1806, died in 1901 at the age of 76. ◇ Ryokō: "The cuckoo sings..." ... "the shade of nostalgia" ◇ Ryokō: "Though I am in the mountain village..." ... "the moonlight of the Dharma" ◇ Since these are old items, there may be scratches, stains, damage, tears, folds, spots, discoloration, chips, and insect damage. Please bid after confirming the images. ◇ We have not received a formal appraisal, so please understand. ◇ The items on display have been collected by the seller over many years and are long-term storage items. They are not new, so please bid only if you are familiar with antiques. ◇ The readings may not be accurate, so please use them as a reference only and correct any errors.