Ikkyu is one of the most significant, and eccentric, figures in Zen history. To Japanese children, he is a folk hero, mischievous and always out-smarting his teachers. To Zen tradition, however, he is both heretic and saint, frequenting brothels and wine houses as well as warning Zen against its own bureaucratic politicizing. He was eventually named abbot of the seminal, Daitofuji temple, placing him in one of the most important Zen linneages. Ikkyu's dichotomies lie also at the heart of Zen.
In 1471, at the age of 77, Ikkyu feel in love with Mori, a blind woman over fifty years his junior. His verse is immediate and poignant, insightful and at times moving. He died eleven years later.
http://hjem.get2net.dk/civet-cat/poetry-stories/ikkyu.htm
