At the age of five, Ikkyū was separated from his mother and placed in a Rinzai Zen temple in Kyoto called Ankoku-ji, as an acolyte.

[1][3] The temple masters taught Chinese culture and language as part of the curriculum, a method termed Gozan Zen.

When Ikkyū turned thirteen he entered Kennin-ji in Kyoto to study Zen under a well known priest by the name of Botetsu.

In 1410, at the age of sixteen, Ikkyū left Kennin-ji and entered the temple Mibu-dera, where an abbot named Seiso was in residence.

He did not stay long, and soon found himself at Saikin-ji in the Lake Biwa region where he was the sole student of an abbot named Ken'o.

One day a band of blind singers performed at the temple and Ikkyū penetrated his kōan while engrossed in the music.

In recognition of his understanding Kaso gave Shuken the Dharma name Ikkyū, which roughly means 'One Pause'.

In Ikkyū's poems, Yoso appears as a character unhealthily obsessed with material goods, who sold Zen to increase the prosperity of the temple.

However, the Ōnin War had reduced Daitokuji to ashes, and Ikkyū was elected to be its abbot late in life, a role he reluctantly took on.

That’s why I’m telling everyone the facts by way of a written testament.”[6] Toward the end of his life, Ikkyū told his disciples: After my death some of you will seclude yourselves in the forests and mountains to meditate, while others may drink saké and enjoy the company of women.

Ikkyū felt a close connection with the Chinese Chan master, Linji, for whom everyday ordinary activities expressed the buddha-nature.

"[12] As such, Ikkyū wrote that sex was better than sitting in meditation and working on koans:Rinzai's disciples never got the Zen message,But I, the Blind Donkey, know the truth:Love play can make you immortal.The autumn breeze of a single night of love is better than a hundred thousand years of sterile sitting meditation .

.Stilted koans and convoluted answers are all monks have,Pandering endlessly to officials and rich patrons.Good friends of the Dharma, so proud, let me tell you,A brothel girl in gold brocade is worth more than any of you.

[14] Such a tantric attitude, which draws on the language of alchemy, can be seen in the following:A sex-loving monk, you object!Hot-blooded and passionate, totally aroused.But then lust can exhaust all passion,Turning base metal into pure gold.The lotus flowerIs not stained by the mud;This dewdrop form,Alone, just as it is,Manifests the real body of truth.

[16] He was among the few Zen priests who addressed the subject of sexuality from a religious context, and he stood out for arguing that enlightenment was deepened by partaking in love and sex, including lovers, prostitutes and monastic homosexuality.

[2] Usually he is referred to as one of the main influences on the Fuke sect of Rinzai zen, as he is one of the most famous flute player mendicants of the medieval times of Japan.

He is credited as one of the great influences on the Japanese tea ceremony, and renowned as one of medieval Japan's greatest calligraphers and sumi-e artists.