Gosan

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Gosan or Gozan. ‘Five mountains’ (Chin., wu-shan), the federation of Chʾan/Zen monasteries, in groups of five, especially of Hangchou, Ming-chou, and then in Japan of Kamakura and Kyōto. Because monasteries were often built on mountains, the word shan (Jap., san or zan) came to mean ‘monastery’.

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