Nakahara Nantenbo's "Nanten Staff" Calligraphy and Painting

[Iaido dude]

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 contemporary of the great lay Zen master, swordsman, calligrapher/artist, and statesman Yamaoka Tesshu, whom he met while teaching at the training hall at Sokei-ji in Tokyo and had daily private meetings with, he was a tireless reformer of Zen monastic training and activity, emphasizing strict practice and koan study. During his travels in Kyushu in 1873, he discovered a large ancient nandina bush growing beside a cow shed. He obtained permission from the farmer who owned the bush, cut the thick trunk, and addressed the remaining stump: "I cannot ive unless I make the most of your death, you who have lived for two thousand years." When he finally joined he waiting travel companions with stick in hand, they chided the zealous priest, playfully dubbing him "Nantenbo" (nandina staff). Inspired by his prized stick, he challenged resident priests to dharma battles, beating them with his stick and chasing them from their temples if they lacked true understanding. He often painted the Zen training stick of nandina, by striking the paper with a heavily loaded brush and then dragging it downward to indicated the length of the stick to suggest a dragon. The initial explosion of ink, with spatters in all directions suggesting a dragon's skin, is vivid evidence of the physicality of his approach. To this single stroke Nantenbo roughly rendered the cord and tassels attached to the stick in contrastingly pale ink tonalities. The overall result is an image that vibrates with enerby, conveying the vigor of Nantembo's technique rather than pictographic description. The potent ferocity of Nantenbo's images of training sticks is echoed by his inscription: "If you speak, Nantenbo; If you don't speak, Nanten[bo]." In other words, you will receive a blow from the nandina stick (and also Nantenbo himself) whether or not you are able to respond to his koan. This inscription echoes a terse statement attributed to the Chinese priest Te-shan: "If you speak, thirty blows; if you don't speak, thirty blows." Nantenbo is telling us that the essence of Zen transcends speaking and nonspeaking; clever words, glib philosophizing, or pretentious silence will earn one a sharp crack on the head. Indeed, it serves as a koan that aims to cut through dualistic thinking by forcing the ego to relinquish a dependence on logic. This seemingly harsh message from master to disciple also exemplifies a pivotal concept in Zen training: after experiencing an initial awakening, a Zen practitioner must not become complacent. This is why it is said that someone who has reached enlightenment never clings to it but moves on. In the same manner, a responsible Master continues to prod his disciples onward, using every means available, including sharp blows with a stick. In this example the calligraphy on either side of the painting form little staffs and, seen less often in this rendering of the nandina staff, the end of the cipher also has a long vertical stroke (reading Toju), echoing the staff itself. It is signed "Seventy-plus-eight-year-old fellow Nantenbo Toju.