RELIGIOUS FIGURE

Dōgen

1200 - 1253

Photo of Dōgen

Icon of person Dōgen

Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), and Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師). Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai School in Kyoto, he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Dōgen has received more than 632,856 page views. His biography is available in 42 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 39 in 2019). Dōgen is the 578th most popular religious figure (up from 635th in 2019), the 77th most popular biography from Japan (up from 84th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Japanese Religious Figure.

Dōgen is most famous for his philosophical work "The Shōbōgenzō" and his establishment of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism.

Memorability Metrics

  • 630k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 66.24

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 42

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.77

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.36

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES

Among religious figures, Dōgen ranks 578 out of 3,187. Before him are Pope Eleutherius, Zayd ibn Ali, Sabbas the Sanctified, Saint Giles, Pope John VII, and Rabanus Maurus. After him are Yasuke, Hugues de Payens, Francis of Paola, Muadh ibn Jabal, Camillus de Lellis, and Anna the Prophetess.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1200, Dōgen ranks 5. Before him are Pope Urban III, Pope Alexander IV, Pope Celestine IV, and Qutuz. After him are Zhang Sanfeng, Villard de Honnecourt, Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, Ghiyas ud din Balban, Muhammad al-Nasir, Doquz Khatun, and Shiban. Among people deceased in 1253, Dōgen ranks 2. Before him is Clare of Assisi. After him are Theobald I of Navarre, Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, Violant of Hungary, Robert Grosseteste, Theodore Komnenos Doukas, Otto II, Duke of Bavaria, Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy, Henry I of Cyprus, Agnes of Assisi, and Boniface II, Marquis of Montferrat.

Others Born in 1200

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Others Deceased in 1253

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In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Dōgen ranks 77 out of 6,245. Before him are Uesugi Kenshin (1530), Shirō Ishii (1892), Date Masamune (1567), Sonny Chiba (1939), Kazuo Ishiguro (1954), and Utamaro (1753). After him are Tomoe Gozen (1157), Nichiren (1222), Emperor Annei (-577), Jiro Horikoshi (1903), Tōgō Heihachirō (1848), and Yoshihide Suga (1948).

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Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES In Japan

Among religious figures born in Japan, Dōgen ranks 2. Before him are Kane Tanaka (1903). After him are Nichiren (1222), Benkei (1155), Paulo Miki (1564), Empress Meishō (1624), Abe no Seimei (921), Sen no Rikyū (1522), Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659), Mikao Usui (1865), Dom Justo Takayama (1552), and Ikkyū (1394).

Japanese born Religious Figures

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