Ven. Seiun
Ven. Seiun is a buddhist monk, also known in Italy as a master of ancient traditional Japanese martial arts, following the teachings of Takamatsu Toshitsugu Sensei. He continues the lineage of Amatsu Tatara, which entailed a comprehensive training of the Shidosha - the master of the ways - in the 'three spheres': the martial, the healing, and the spiritual.
The Martial path
The beginnings
Ven. Seiun began his martial arts journey experimenting with judo, then karate, and later aikido. From the modern disciplines of budo, he later started his path in bujutsu by attending the school of master Bargigli in Rome. However, the search for a path closer to tradition led him to first join the Bujinkan federation and then the Genbukan until 1999, under the guidance of Shoto Tanemura Sensei. During this time, he was appointed as dojo-cho (head of training locations) and received the martial name "Yuga”.
Japan
Not yet satisfied with his martial growth, driven by hope and intuition, the monk continued his search for a master who could bring him closer to the ancient source. His intuition led him to find a disciple from the lineage of Iwami Nangaku Sensei, a training companion of Takamatsu Sensei. This disciple is Takatsuka Eichoku Sensei, with whom he practiced according to the teachings of Kukishin ryu until 2003.
The turning point
This, however, is not the end of the journey: the turning point came with the encounter with the direct heir of Ueno Takashi Sensei, Kaminaga Shigemi Sensei. It is precisely from the latter that the monk Seiun was accepted in his dojo in 2004, becoming, from 2005, the first personal disciple of western origin to follow Kaminaga Sensei. He remained his student until the year of Kaminaga Sensei's death, in 2014.
Sakushinkan
The monk Seiun founded the Sakushinkan school in 2000, which he leads with the aim of preserving Japanese warrior teachings. He organizes courses on ancient martial arts, goshinjutsu (personal defense and danger prevention) and courses dedicated to techniques of chinese and traditional japanese medicine.
Over the years, the monk developed the Sakushinkan Budo, the comprehensive training method of the Sakushinkan school for transmitting the teachings of the ancient lineage.
The spiritual path
The beginnings
The monk Seiun began his spiritual journey together with his martial journey, receiving the first concepts of eastern philosophy directly in dojo. Subsequently, his interest in these subjects grew, and when he was 20, he started attending centers of the tibetan gelugpa buddhist tradition and the soto-shu zen tradition in Italy. Concurrently with his martial pursuits, in 1999, he travelled to Japan, where he was accepted into the shugendo order.
Shugendo
After a period of novitiate, he received the ordination as a yamabushi (mountain monk) and took on the religious name Seiun. Several years later, he became a personal disciple of Daisendatsu Ven. Shimazu Kokai, the 87th abbot of the Kotakuji temple of the Haguro Shugendo, and received from him the name Dosho. Still today, he maintains a relationship of discipleship with this master, deepening the practices and teachings of mountain Buddhism.
Tendai
In 2004, through a letter of introduction, he was introduced by his master to Ven. Ichishima Shoshin, the 36th Master Abbot of Senzoji Tenryuzan temple and kangaku (advisor) of the Tendai-shu order (Mahayana-Vajrayana school), and became his personal disciple. Two years later, it is from Ven. Shoshin himself that he received ordination as a monk with the name Fushin.
Ven. Seiun travels frequently to Japan to continue drawing from the teachings of Ven. Shoshin, with whom he maintains a close discipleship relationship.
Tenryuzanji
Years later, in 2008, the monk Seiun travelled to Sri Lanka, where he received ordination from the Grand Master, Ven. Akmimana Dhammapala Maha Thero, following the platform of Vinaya Theravada. In 2015, he established the buddhist temple Tenryuzanji in Cinte Tesino (TN), of which he is the spiritual guide and abbot. Furthermore, he takes part in interfaith tables in Trento, Rovereto, and Bolzano.
Ven. Seiun identifies himself with the figure of the sohei, the warrior monk, combining in his practice the teachings of martial arts and the Buddhist religious philosophy.
