Ikkyu Sojun’s name embodies both the formal structure of Zen monastic life and the inner turning of his practice. “Sojun” was his Dharma name, received upon ordination, and functioned as his formal Buddhist name. Later, under his teacher Kaso Sodon, he came to be known as “Ikkyu” (一休), the name by which he is most widely remembered and under which he signed his poems and calligraphy. The conferring of this name marked a decisive moment in his training, associated with the recognition of his awakening and his emergence as a distinct voice within the Zen tradition. Thus, “Ikkyu Sojun” is not a casual label but a layered spiritual identity, reflecting both institutional transmission and personal realization.

The literal meaning of “Ikkyu” is “one rest” or “one pause,” and this simple phrase opens onto a rich field of Zen implications. It evokes the possibility that a single, complete pause of the mind can break through delusion, suggesting that enlightenment may arise in one decisive interval of stillness. In this sense, the name points toward a rest that is not mere inactivity, but the cessation of grasping and conceptual striving, a “one-pointed” repose in what Zen calls true reality. At the same time, it resonates with the paradoxical Zen insight that genuine realization does not come from relentless effort alone, but from a moment of non-effort in which the mind naturally settles. The name “Ikkyu” thus serves as both a seal of his teacher’s recognition and a concise expression of the very heart of the path he embodied.