was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligrapher, poet and garden designer. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as , an honorific conferred on him by Emperor Go-Daigo. His mother was the daughter of Hà Âjà  Masamura (1264âÂÂ1268), seventh Shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate.
Originally from Ise Province, now part of modern-day Mie Prefecture, Soseki was a ninth-generation descendant of Emperor Uda. At the age of four he lost his mother and was therefore put in the temple of Hirashioyama under the guidance of priest Kà «a. He entered a mountain temple in 1283, where he studied the Shingon and Tendai sects of Buddhism. In 1292 he took his vows at Tà Âdai-ji in Nara, and was given the name Chikaku. In 1293 he dreamed that, while visiting two temples in China called in Japanese and he was given a portrait of Daruma Daishi (the introductor of Chan Buddhism in China, commonly called Zen Buddhism in English) and told to keep it safe. When he awoke, he concluded that Zen must be his destiny, so he converted and went to study Zen at Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto under , , and others. For the most part, however, he practiced alone. Kennichi confirmed Soseki's enlightenment after a period of time. Later, in remembrance of the dream, he composed a new name for himself, forming his family name from characters meaning dream and window, and his given name from the first characters of the names of the two temples appearing in his dream; it was this new name, Musà  Soseki, by which he was to become famous.
In 1325 Emperor Go-Daigo requested that he come to Kyoto to become head priest of the great temple of Nanzen-ji. The following year he founded Zen'o-ji in his native Ise He was later invited by Kamakura's regent Hà Âjà  Takatoki so, the following year, after establishing a temple in Ise province he went to Kamakura and stayed at Jà Âchi-ji and Engaku-ji. In 1327 with Nikaidà  Dà Âun's support he founded Zuisen-ji, a temple destined to become an important cultural center in the region. Afterwards, he stayed at Kyà «kà Â-ji in Kà Âchi Prefecture. He acquired creeds from both Hà Âjà  Takatoki and Hà Âjà  Sadaaki. After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, he was ordered by the Emperor Go-Daigo to go back to Kyoto, where he founded Saihà Â-ji and Rinkawa-dera. It was in this period that he was given by imperial decree the name Musà  Kokushi.
In 1345 of Muromachi period, he founded Tenryà «-ji in Kyoto, that is his most important work. After that, six years passed, and he died.
After Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration failed and Ashikaga Takauji became shà Âgun, like many other men of his time Soseki switched sides. He was ambitious and sensitive to power shifts, so he allied himself with the Ashikaga brothers, becoming their intimate and serving them well. He stayed with them for the rest of his long life, enjoying the support of both the shà Âgun and his brother Tadayoshi, who played a pivotal role in his career. Musà  helped the two Ashikaga organize a network of Zen monasteries, the so-called Five Mountain System, and its subsidiary, the Ankoku-ji network of temples, across Japan. This helped create a national religious movement and solidify the shà Âgun's power. In 1339, at Go-Daigo's death he opened Tenryà «-ji in Kyoto to ensure the Emperor a prosperous afterlife. The garden in front of the chief abbot's residence is one of his works, incorporating elements of the landscape in Arashiyama near Kyoto. It is considered evidence of his genius as a landscape designer.
Musà Â, together with Ashikaga Tadayoshi and a merchant named Shihon are considered responsible for the reopening of trade between Japan and Ming China. As a result of the trading mission, the construction of Tenryà «-ji was completed. The Kyoto Five Mountain Zen temple network was being established.
The temples of the Five Mountain System network of Zen temples were centers of learning of Confucian metaphysics, Chinese poetry, painting, calligraphy, printing, architecture, garden design, and ceramics, and as such have left an indelible mark on the country's history and culture. At the very center of their birth stands Musà  Soseki. Soseki was an abbot at Zenrin-ji, Tenryà «-ji, Zuisen-ji and many other temples. He taught Zen to a great number of disciples (the estimated number is over 10 thousand), also leaving an enormous body of poetry and other writings. One of his best known anthologies of zen teachings is . Among his students are Gidà  Shà «shin and Zekkai Chà «shin, literary figures who had a central role in the development of the Japanese Literature of the Five Mountains.
Even though none survives in its original form, Soseki's Zen gardens have proven to be one of his most lasting contributions to the country's culture and image. To Soseki, designing new gardens and altering existing ones was an integral part of the practice of Zen.
Soseki died in 1351 at the age of 77. Because he was given, both before and after death, seven different honorific names (like , , and calling him a national teacher by as many Emperors, he is known as .
The following is a list of gardens known to have been by Musà  Soseki or attributed to him. However, whatever Soseki built was destroyed during the à Ânin War, and therefore any modern version is someone else's work. Soseki Muso introduced "Zanzanjosui" æ®Âå±±å°水 into Japanese gardens. He also played a significant role in establishing karesansuiæ¯山水, using the stonework to express an imaginary landscape rather than as a nature model.