Iaido dude

Suio Genro (遂翁元盧, 1717-1790) became a disciple of Hakuin Ekaku at age 30. After the death of his master, he took over the Shōinji Temple. His calligraphy and painting reflect his master's style and depictions, especially of Daruma. This example, a favorite in my collection, is a decided departure from the depiction of a somewhat comically "clueless" patriarch and has much of the fierceness of Fugai Ekun's depiction especially in the eyes, and the flying white strokes that define the body are more angular and powerful. This is a more commanding and intimidating visage, which appears to have been inspired by both masters. However, his calligraphic style owes much to Hakuin. The inscription is of the classic Zen teaching regarding the non-verbal transmission of the mind/heart from master to disciple, traditionally attributed to Daruma. The third and fourth lines frequently accompany the Daruma paintings of Hakuin and Yamaoka Tesshu. A special transmission outside the scriptures, (kyōge betsuden 教外別傳) not founded upon words and letters, (furyū monji 不立文字) [Zen] points directly to the human heart/mind, (jikishi ninshin 直指人心) see into your nature, become Buddha! (kenshō jōbutsu 見性成佛) What does it mean to have a non-verbal transmission? I have asked Kenneth Kushner Roshi (Chosei Zen Dojo, Madison, WI) about this in relation to koan study. Rather than the common understanding of koans as puzzles or riddles, they are most commonly a record of direct encounters between master and student in a question/answer format, collected and widely distributed for centuries as a way to bring the immediacy of the Zen teaching character of great masters into the practice of future generations. It is the closest we can know of having an actual conversation with important Zen masters and Patriachs of the foundational Ch'an Buddhist lineage. The Rinzai school places a greater emphasis on koan study than the Soto school. Kushner Roshi says that when a student provides the "answer" to an assigned koan in face-to-face meetings, it is not through an intellectual or clever verbal explanation that the teacher recognizes a penetration of the koan. Rather, the enlightenment experience of seeing to the nature of the self (kensho) is expressed through evidence of a transformative and often physical experience that is ineffable, but that this is readily apparent to the teacher. Having not embarked on koan study, it is difficult for me to describe what this experience is like. However, even if I were engaged in such study, it is likely that I would not be able to do much better by way of explanation. This is truly a "special transmission" that is "not founded upon words and letters." Fugai Ekun Yamaoka Tesshu Hakuin Ekaku

Some of the artist collaborators sign and/or stamp their mei. Would you consider the waka we have been discussing a winter poem?

I am left wondering if the painting in my composition was not done by her even though it was not signed by a collaborator. I find it to be too refined--at least for an early work of hers. Or perhaps she did it at a later time in her life.

Here is another translation, which I like better. Lines 2 and 3 are shown with the correct kanji as they appear in the inscription. when white chrysanthemums by my pillow perfume the dark dreams of many autumn nights come back to me shira giku no (志らぎくの) makura ni chikaku (枕にちかく) kaoru yo wa (かをるよハ) yume mo iku yo no (夢もいくよの) aki kaenu ran (秋かへぬらん) Translation by Sayumi Takahashi in: Black Robe White Mist--art of the Japnaese Buddhist nun Rengetsu. M. Eastburn, L. Folan, and R. Maxwell; National Gallery of Australia (2007), pg. 69

Jan, there was no age given in her signature for our two renditions of her poem. How do you date yours as an early work? The poem itself or the fact that she did the painting herself? I have see numerous examples in which she choses to paint different subjects that appear in her waka, as in this case.

Ōtagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875). This calligraphy with painting is one of her most famous waka, evoking a melancholic solitude that was part and parcel of the life she led as a Buddhist nun. The moon or sun peeking out from the clouds is a lovely touch. living deep in the mountains i’ve grown fond of the sighing pines-- on days when the wind is still how lonely it becomes yamazato wa (やまさとハ) matsu no koe nomi (まつのこゑのみ) kiki nare te (ききなれて) kaze fuka nu hi wa (かせふかぬひハ) sabishikari keri (さびしかりけり)

Ōtagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875). This fan was originally mounted on a scroll that was presumably damaged. Fortunately, the fan itself was preserved by cutting it free of the scroll. It was auctioned as an unmounted cutout. I cut away several layers of backing paper and trimmed along the edges to give a free margin. Eventually, it will be remounted. For now, I intend to mount it loosely on a thin hinoki veneer, which can then be affixed to a biyobu for display during tea ceremony or on a shoji screen. This is a lovely poem with painting in her distinctive man'yogana script, which is vivid and very well-preserved in this example. Translation from Rengetsu Foundation (https://rengetsu.org/poetry_db/index.php). white chrysanthemums near my pillow scent the night... in my dreams how many autumns did I pass through? shiragiku no (白ぎくの) makura ni chikaku (まくらにちかく) kaoru yo wa (かをるよハ) yume mo ikuyo no (夢もいくよの) aki ka he nu ran (秋かへぬらん)

I'm trying to translate this Enso purportedly by Ikkyu Sojun, an eccentric and iconoclastic Zen master of the 15th Century. It looks like the first row on the right references Buddha and the next row to the left references Autumn moon. It is signed "Ikkyu 一休). Any thoughts?

Thanks, Piers. Wonderful. I had left this without the original calligraphy brushed by Kobayashi. Then today, my wife noticed that 佳 appears in both of the first lines (so there are a few additional kanji). It is the second character of her Chinese name. And of course she had to let me know that their is a calligraphy in "our" collection with her name in it--twice no less!

Here is the Japanese waka poem. The first character is kanji, followed by hiragana (I may be off a bit on the last line). 晴れて佳し 庫もりても佳し 富二の山 元の姿は 变わらザリケリ

Very elegant and heartfelt—both the art and the display. She would approve!

Wow! Please post the entire tanzaku and ceramic for us to admire.

Sorry, here's the last panel.

This is a gorgeous work in outstanding condition by Yamaoka currently being offered in auction that I cannot find a reference for in published books, prior online auctions or well-known online collections. Many of his work of this kind consists of of a set of 6-panel screens. This is one screen, which may suggest that it has been separated from the original set. Or it may have been intended as a single screen. I suspect that the translation may help solve this mystery. As usual, Yamaoka's cursive script, while consistent, is highly idiosyncratic. I find it very hard to decipher, although I am trying to learn his style from a famous poem that he brushed to provide instruction on calligraphy for his wife. Some of the challenge is also how he connects kanji or hiragana characters. This work is clearly pure kanji, which suggests that it is a poem or Ch'an teaching. He was classically trained in Chinese literature, poetry, and Ch'an writings.

Briliant. Thanks, Steve. 郭公 is also the way Otagaki Rengetsu often brushed the kanji for cuckoo in her waka. Chiyo-ni has several oft cited haiku that reference the cuckoo, but this is not one of them. There is a Japanese book of the complete works of Chiyo-ni, which I am thinking of buying. I found a used copy, but it is in quite poor condition.

This appears to be a tanzaku by Kaga no Chiyo. I can't quite get started on the translation to know how to proceed.

Your set of seasonal tanzaku are stunning. Such powerful, focused, precise brushwork.

I’ve never understood whether the coloring of the paper (very common on tanzaku) is done before the brushwork or added some time later. This is the link to the Rengetsu Foundation, which has compiled and translated a searchable database of her waka: https://www.rengetsu.org/

Nakahara Nantenbo (1839-1925), Buddhist name Toju Zenchu (Complete Devotion), was in the last 17 years of his life the Exalted Master of the main temple of Moyoshin-ji of the Rinzai sect. A painting theme brushed extensively by Nantenbo is the "wall-facing Daruma" or "menpeki Daruma 面壁達磨," referring to the ancient First Patriarch's nine years of meditation facing a wall. As early as the fourteenth century in Japan, Zen artists playfully depicted the sage's silhouette by means of a sing, meandering outline in a technique known as ippitsuga (one-stroke painting). Nantenbo's conception of the menpeki theme is even more abbreviated than those of his predecessor's. By eliminating the distinction between the head and shoulders, he further distilled the silhouette of the First Patriarch. A simple inverted U-shape is used to connote Daruma's body, and a horizontal ellipse is meant to imply his knees beneath monkish robes. The abstract nature of the figure only accentuates the quality of the ink, applied in a single sweeping stroke of great energy. The calligraphy exhibits Nantenbo's legendary Zen humor. 面壁乃祖師の姿者 山城能八幡野 者たの宇里可 茄子比釆 The shape of Daruma facing the wall, is it like a melon or an eggplant from the fields of Hachiman in Yamashiro? Was Nantenbō simply inept at pictorial representation, or was he a visionary who pushed Zen painting further into a realm of dynamic epigraphs and emblems? The inscription on his menpeki painting offers a playful acknowledgment of the image's ambiguous nature. It is likely, in fact, that Nantenbō intentionally challenges people's rigid preconceptions about the nature of Daruma. In his autobiography he notes that while he receives many requests for paintings of Daruma, his images are often criticized for looking like owls or octopi. "Very interesting," the old priest observes. "People talk as if they have seen Daruma, but who has seen the original Daruma?" Provenance: Nagaragawa Gallery (Tokyo). Personal collection.

Here are a few other masterpiece paintings by Fugai with inscription--one identical and another different than the one in my collection.

Lovely. Gyokuro and the concept of umami taste are two experiences that I have not yet had the pleasure of exploring.

My "kyudo" corner with Otagaki Rengetsu and Kaga no Chiyo works. My wife is very good at keeping all of my "hobbies" tidy.

Another Yamaoka Daruma painting I recently acquired with same inscription as the original work I posted. HIs more commonly seen signature here is within the body of Daruma.

Etsuzan Doshu (1629-1709). Born in China as Yueshan Daozong. He came to Japan in 1657 to study with Mokuan. In 1705, six years after he produced this calligraphy, he became the seventh abbot of Manpukuji temple of the Chinese Obaku sect of Zen buddhism near Kyoto. Regarded as one of the finest of the Obaku calligraphers and respected as Sho no Etsuzan (Etsuzan of calligraphy). He frequently started his poems with a dramatic large kanji character. Personal collection. Provenance, Zen Art Gallery (Belinda Sweet). Poem translation: "Small pebbles can build a great wall; purchase this kind of gold all life long!"

Kaizan Sokaku (1769-1846). Enso—the iconic and celebrated "circle" brushed by Zen Masters—often interpreted as a representation of both the void and the universe, emptiness and fullness, the one and the all. Calligraphy in cursive asks, "Where is it?" or "Why ask why?" to turn the experience of contemplation back to the Zen practitioner's sense of self and true nature. I use this image for the personal blog section of my website. Personal collection. [Published in Enso: Zen circles of enlightenment. Audrey Yoshiko Seo, Shambala Publications, Inc. Singapore 2007]