Ota Dokan Biography | Poet

Ota Dokan ( , 1432 - August 25, 1486), also known as Ota Sukenaga () or Ota Dokan Sukenaga, was a Japanese samurai warrior-poet, military tactician and Buddhist monk. Ota Sukenaga took the tonsure (bald scalp) as a Buddhist priest in 1478, and he also adopted the Buddhist name, Dokan, by which he is known today. Dokan is best known as the architect and builder of Edo Castle (now the Imperial Palace ) in what is today modern Tokyo; and he is considered the founder of the castle town which grew up around that Onin era fortress.