Calligraphy by Zen Master Chuho Sou ("A Different World Inside")

[Iaido dude]

Chuho Sou (宙宝宗宇, 1759-1838) was the 418th chief priest of Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto. His Buddhist name was Chuho, his given name was Sou, and he was known as Shogetsu (昇月), which means "Rising Moon." He trained under Sokudo Soki, the 406th bishop of Daitokuji Temple and was a highly revered Japanese Zen master, calligrapher, potter, and tea connoisseur. Chuho admired and was influenced by his contemporary Jiun Onko.

 

                        

In his usual powerful hand, Chuho has brushed 壺中 (right to left), practically reinventing the first character. This phrase translates most directly as "Inside the Jar" or "In the Pot." However, the meaning runs deeper than the literal translation. In Zen and ancient Chinese lore, 壺中 (kochū) carries the connotation of "a different world within," "a microcosm," or "a reality outside of normal time and space." This meaning comes from the legendary Chinese tale of the "Jar Gourd Heaven" (壶天). In this story, a man follows an immortal into a small gourd and discovers a vast, magical palace inside—a complete world within.

Therefore, 壺中 often implies a state of enlightenment where the vast universe is contained in a single object, or where the duality generated by distinctions between inside and outside, large and small, cease to exist. It evokes the Zen principle of "the infinite in the finite."

 

I can't make out these particular seals since there isn't a lot of documentation online. Usually, The MET archive has very good translations and annotation, but it doesn't have any works by Chuho Sou.

Signature: Daitokuji Chuho Sou