Kobayashi Taigen, Zen Calligraphy of "Ichi" (一)

[Iaido dude]

Although Kobayashi Taigen (1938-) has brushed numerous versions of this solitary and simplest kanji character, in no other has he used the technique of "white space" to its fullest and most vibrant effect. In Zen, the concept of "one" (or rather, "not one") often refers to the negation of duality and the interconnectedness of all things, moving beyond the limitations of individualistic perception. It's not about literal oneness, but rather about dissolving the perceived separation between self and other, subject and object, and ultimately, between reality and illusion. Zen emphasizes being fully present in the moment, without judgment or conceptualization. This includes recognizing the interconnectedness of all things in the here and now. In this sense, "one" can also refer to the singularity of the present moment, where everything is simply as it is. 

 

Kobayashi was born 1938 in Shenyang, China and raised in a Buddhist monastery when he was six years old. In 1975 he became the successor of abbot Miyanishi Genshō at Ōbai-in, a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji, Kyōto. He is a prolific calligrapher, maker of tea bowels and bamboo tea scoops for traditional tea ceremony (chanoyu).

 

[Chris Colman]

I know this technique as "flying white", my example of it:

 

 

[Iaido dude]

I've never seen “flying white” executed so elaborately!! I am reminded of one of my favorite renderings of Darumu by Seki Seisetsu included in the book “The Art of Twentieth Century Zen” by my friend Audrey Yoshiko Seo. 

 

 

 

[Chris Colman]

Wonderful.

[Iaido dude]

This is my “Zen Bull” by Kogan Gengai (1748-1821), who was the Rinzai Zen abbot of Kogen-ji temple. He was a disciple of Hakuin Ekaku and Genro Suio. The bull appears to emerge from the Enso. “Flying white” forms the hind quarters and tail. 

 

[Chris Colman]

That appear to be moving, another wonderful piece. 

[Iaido dude]

Here are a few nice "Ichi" kakejiku by other Shodo masters. I think that Kobayashi's flying white brushwork has more movement and dynamism.

 

Adachi Taido

 

Seibu Bunjo

 

 

[Chris Colman]

Better overall shape and look to it.

 

Torei Enji (1721-1792) Enso

 

Nakagawa Soen (1907-1984) Mu

 

Both dynamic flying white examples

[Iaido dude]

The Torei Enji Enso is one of my favorites. It's so important that it is reproduced on the cover of Stephen Addiss's book on Zenga. In that book there is a 2 character calligraphy that is translated as "Self Revealed," which I tracked down to the then private owner through a zen art dealer and eventually acquired. I realized that there is a kind of advantage in not being able to read kanji in cursive script, which then allows one to just focus on the powerful form itself. After looking at hundreds of works by a particular Zenga master, I begin to recognize his idiosyncratic and highly consistent script.

 

"Self Revealed" by Tetsugyu (1628-1700). He was a Chinese Obaku sect Zen master who studied with Teishu, Ryukei, Ingen, Mokuen, and Sokuhi. The last three were leading Zen masters who were also noted calligraphers of his time.

 

[Iaido dude]

Then there is the fantastic work of Nakahara Nantenbo. I am following this kakejiku on Yahoo Japan of his often brushed nanten stick with the threat "Nanten bo if you follow the path, Nanten bo if you cannot follow the path!" His disciples got whacked either way! I knew there was a reason I didn't become a Zen monk. This one is about JPY 33,000. The finest examples in which that blob of ink on top is even more dramatically splashed like a Jackson Pollack painting go for thousands of $$.

 

[Chris Colman]

Funny, i was going to post the staff by Torei Enji yesterday. i really like the Tetsugyu.

I can read some kanji, but the shodo i have seen are usually opaque to me, i appreciate them as an artwork..

 

[Iaido dude]

Chris, I think that not being able to "read" the kanji is actually an advantage in training the eye to recognize the power and vitality of Shodo when brushed by a Zen master. There is a Rinzai Zen community in Rhode Island (USA) that practices Shodo based on the "instruction book" left by the lay Zen master, swordsman, and calligrapher Yamioka Tesshu (https://www.choseizen.org/calligraphy). They don't actually emphasize the meaning of the kanji. They replicate his cursive script as an expression of the Zen mind. Their focus is on the form. However, I have tended to collect works that have painting and calligraphy in which the two forms of expression complement each other. In this case, the meaning of the calligraphy is important. My wife is fluent in Chinese and is well versed in classical Chinese literature. She has been enormously helpful in recognizing verses taken directly from the work of famous Chinese poets, sages, and Chan masters that are frequently referenced in Zenga.

 

 

 

 

[jawob]

Outstanding works! Slowly trying to teach myself shodo, it is extremely difficult, especially attaining the right mental focus.

 

Steve your link to Choseizen is very helpful to me

[Iaido dude]

Hi Jeff. Yes, discovering Chosei Zen was a pleasant surprise. I have been trying to have a Yamioka Tesshu work translated and my research took me to Kenneth Kushner Roshi at Chosei Zen, whose Rhode Island sub-dojo of Chosei Zen practices Shodo as part of their Zen training. I also wrote to Zensho-an temple in Tokyo, which was founded by Yamioka in 1883, and which has a collection of his works. I have not heard back. The running cursive script is quite challenging to decipher, but I am undaunted. Having looked at hundreds of Yamioka's works, I am developing pattern recognition for his idiosyncratic, but also highly consistent brushwork. I am hoping to get lucky and stumble upon a work for which a translation is available and that points to a specific verse from well-known Chinese or Japanese Zen works. Zen masters even brush chapters from the Tao Te Ching. Then I can fill in the blanks. 

[jawob]

Steve, I'm probably stating the obvious but have you tried to contact John Stevens?

[Iaido dude]

I contacted John a while back to do the translation for a fee, but he seemed to get confused about it and sent me a translation for another work that was already published and previously translated. After that he stopped replying. Kushner Roshi also tried to contact him on my behalf, but that effort seems not to have been fruitful either.

[jawob]

That's a bummer.  Try the Museum of Fine Art Boston

[Iaido dude]

Nothing in the MFA Boston. I keep looking at art gallery and auction sites. Eventually, something will click and the clue(s) will lead me to the translation. Most of the artists repeated the same composition and calligraphy numerous times. And sometimes many times.

[Chris Colman]

A caligraphy given to me by a Kyudo sensei i usd to see every year, translation by him - "clouds and water move with great energy but no power"

 

We had visited Osu Kannon in Nagoya, he bought a Shodo caligraphy there, when we returned to the dojo, he asked me to wait while he went home, a while later his assistant returned and presented a copy to me, it now hangs in my dojo in New Zealand. 

Sensei was always telling me "no power", when i was shooting.

[Iaido dude]

What a wonderful story. My kyudo sensei used to sit in a folding director’s chair next to the shooting platform. New students would try to ask him questions. In his broken English, he would say, “Talk too much. Shoot!”