THE MEDITATING FROG by Sengai

The Buddhist monk Sengai (1750-1837) was a leading exponent of Zen painting with the personal dictum: ‘There are no rules in Sengai’s paintings.’ His work, created during the later Edo period (1615-1868), reveals he had a natural affinity with the brush, was everyman’s artist, yet he remained totally devoted to his religious calling. In 1790, Sengai was appointed the 123rd abbot of the oldest Zen temple in Japan, the Shofuku-ji of Hakata, present-day Fukuoka, in Kyushu. The temple had been founded in 1191 by the monk Eisai (1141-1215), an apprentice at Chinese monasteries during the Southern Song (1127-1279), when Chan or Zen Buddhism reached its zenith. Largely responsible for the advent of Zen Buddhism in Kamakura Japan (1185 -1333), Eisai went on to establish other important Rinzai Zen monasteries in Kamakura and Kyoto. Sengai’s spiritual lineage might be traced to the Kogetsu school of the Rinzai sect, which contributed to the flourishing of the Zen arts in Japan.

Sengai was a reluctant artist who concealed his talent, fearing it might interfere with his duties as head abbot. He did not wish to follow in the footsteps of the great Zen master Sesshu (1421-1506), who is better remembered as an artist. Privately, however, Sengai was a prolific artist. In Tokyo, the Idemitsu Museum of Arts has a holding of over 1,200 Sengai paintings, the largest and finest collection of his work in Japan. Yvonne Tan. Lire la suite http://www.asianartnewspaper.com/#

HOTEI POINTING AT THE MOON  by Sengai

THE SEA LION  by Sengai

Sengai: Enjoying Zen Paintings is at the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Teigeki Building, 9/F, 1-1, Marunouchi 3-Chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, until 28 October.