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JAPAN / History / The Living Past

Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'

As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)

As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970) | PUBLIC DOMAIN/ VIA WIKICOMMONS

By Michael Hoffman
Contributing writer

Jul 21, 2024

An imagined dialogue between Ryokan the monk (1758-1831) and one “Ryo-kun” (2013-). The monk speaks first.

Ryokan: What’s that?

Ryo-kun: This? You don’t know what this is? It’s a smartphone.