WRITER

Ryōkan

1758 - 1831

Photo of Ryōkan

Icon of person Ryōkan

Ryōkan Taigu (良寛大愚) (1758 – 18 February 1831) was a quiet and unconventional Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit. Ryōkan is remembered for his poetry and calligraphy, which present the essence of Zen life. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Ryōkan has received more than 172,232 page views. His biography is available in 18 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 17 in 2019). Ryōkan is the 2,725th most popular writer (down from 2,457th in 2019), the 803rd most popular biography from Japan (down from 733rd in 2019) and the 58th most popular Japanese Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 170k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 53.72

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 18

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.01

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.79

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Poems
Chinese Zen poetry, Japanese Zen poetry, Translations into English
1933
Ryōkan no shokan
Manuscripts, Facsimiles
1972
Ryōkan no sho
Art collections, Calligraphy, Private collections
1985
Ryōkan no shokanshū
Correspondence, Japanese Poets, Poets, Japanese
1988
Teihon Ryōkan zenshū
Correspondence, Japanese Zen poetry, Poetry
2006
Kochu Ryokan zenkashu
Waka, Japanese poetry, Waka.
1996

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Ryōkan ranks 2,725 out of 7,302. Before him are André Salmon, Peter James, Yasushi Inoue, Marjorie Boulton, Procopius of Gaza, and Peter Bieri. After him are Cornelia Funke, Marie Marvingt, Francis Ponge, Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, Ludwig Rellstab, and Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1758, Ryōkan ranks 21. Before him are Osman Pazvantoğlu, Carle Vernet, Carl Friedrich Zelter, 8th Dalai Lama, Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco, and Sin Yun-bok. After him are Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Jean Joseph Mounier, Francisco Javier Castaños, 1st Duke of Bailén, Duke Eugen of Württemberg, Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, and Agustín de Betancourt. Among people deceased in 1831, Ryōkan ranks 32. Before him are Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein, Princess Louise of Denmark, Sébastien Érard, James Hoban, Henry Maudslay, and Jedediah Smith. After him are Vasily Golovnin, Franz Krommer, Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, Ferenc Kazinczy, Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, and Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot.

Others Born in 1758

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Others Deceased in 1831

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In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Ryōkan ranks 803 out of 6,245. Before him are Kiyoura Keigo (1850), Takizawa Bakin (1767), Oku Yasukata (1847), Kodama Gentarō (1852), Tatsuya Shiji (1938), and Yasushi Inoue (1907). After him are Hiraga Gennai (1728), Megumu Tamura (1927), Akira Matsunaga (1914), Shojiro Sugimura (1905), Minoru Kobata (1946), and Kujō Yoritsugu (1239).

Others born in Japan

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Among WRITERS In Japan

Among writers born in Japan, Ryōkan ranks 58. Before him are George Ohsawa (1893), Okakura Kakuzō (1862), Seichō Matsumoto (1909), Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (662), Banana Yoshimoto (1964), and Yasushi Inoue (1907). After him are Takuboku Ishikawa (1886), Shūji Terayama (1935), Fumiko Enchi (1905), Ōtomo no Yakamochi (718), Kamo no Chōmei (1155), and Takiji Kobayashi (1903).

Japanese born Writers

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