Although often remembered as a solitary hermit, Ryōkan Taigu’s life was interwoven with a small but significant circle of poetic and literary companions. The most intimate of these was the young Buddhist nun and poet Teishin, who entered his life in his later years. Their relationship unfolded as a dialogue of hearts through waka, at once tender, playful, and spiritually serious. She cared for him during his final illness, and after his death took on the quiet but decisive task of preserving and compiling many of his poems and writings. Through this shared practice of verse and devotion, their bond became both a human companionship and a vehicle for the transmission of his legacy.

Beyond this central relationship, Ryōkan also maintained ties with local poets, scholars, and patrons in the Echigo region. Figures such as Kera Yoshishige, a farmer, brewer, and amateur poet, and Abe Sadaemon offered him material support and engaged in poetic exchange, allowing his work to circulate beyond the hermitage. Confucian scholars and poets like Kimura Mokunen, along with other local literati, met him in the space where Zen, classical learning, and vernacular culture overlapped. In these encounters, Ryōkan’s calligraphy, poems, and conversations became a living bridge between monastic seclusion and the world of lay culture.

These relationships reveal that his hermitage was not a fortress of isolation but a permeable boundary, where spiritual practice and literary expression met the lives of others. The image of the lone monk playing with children or composing verses under the moonlight is complemented by the quieter reality of patrons preserving his manuscripts and friends treasuring his words. Through Teishin’s devotion and the care of local poets and scholars, the fragile, handwritten traces of his life were gathered and safeguarded. In this way, his seemingly solitary path unfolded within a subtle network of human connection, allowing his voice to echo far beyond the small huts where he once lived and wrote.