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Mugaku Sogen and Engakuji: "Do Not Be Troubled" and the Mongol Crisis Zen Master

Mugaku Sogen, a monk from Song China, is famous for remaining unmoved before Yuan soldiers' blades with the words 'Do not be troubled.' He became the spiritual backbone of regent Hojo Tokimune during the Mongol invasions and founded Engakuji to pray for war dead on both sides. Visit Kamakura's sacred Zen sites.

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Mugaku Sogen (1226–1286), a Song-Chinese Rinzai monk born in Mingzhou (Ningbo), is famous for the episode where, when Yuan soldiers pressed blades against him during the Mongol invasion of Southern Song, he remained utterly calm and said ‘Makubonno’ (Do not be troubled). This story reached the eighth Kamakura regent Hojo Tokimune, who invited Mugaku to Japan in 1279 to be his Zen master during the existential crisis of the two Mongol invasions (1274 and 1281). After the second invasion was repelled, Tokimune in 1282 founded Engakuji in Kamakura not only for the Japanese war dead but also for the souls of the Mongol and Koryo fallen — a profound expression of universal Buddhist compassion guided by Mugaku. Mugaku served as founding abbot until his death in 1286, receiving the posthumous title ‘Bukko Kokushi.’ Visit Engakuji in Kita-Kamakura to experience this history.

Engakuji Sanmon (Yamanouchi, Kamakura) — main gate of the second of Kamakura Five Mountains, founded by Mugaku Sogen in 1282 as a compassionate memorial after the Mongol invasions

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Night scene of a Kamakura-era Zen temple — conveying the tranquility and solemnity of the Zen atmosphere Mugaku Sogen transmitted

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Engakuji Shariden — National Treasure housing the Buddha's tooth relic. One of the finest examples of Kamakura-period Zen architecture

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Engakuji Shariden detail — the elegant Zen-style (Tang-style) architecture built by Hojo Tokimune and Mugaku Sogen as a space of faith after the Mongol invasions

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Jufukuji (third of Kamakura Five Mountains) — a Zen sacred site alongside Kenchoji and Engakuji, embodying the world of Kamakura Zen in which Mugaku Sogen also trained at Kenchoji on his arrival

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Key Figures

Founding Abbot of Engakuji, Zen Master Who Faced the Mongols

Founding Abbot of Engakuji, Zen Master Who Faced the Mongols

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