Hakuin ten: zenga ni kometa messēji = Hakuin : the hidden messages of Zen art

Abstract

"The Bunkamura Museum of Art is pleased to present 'HAKUIN--The Hidden Messages of Zen Art,' an exhibition featuring zenga (Zen painting) and bokuseki (calligraphic works) by the middle Edo period Zen priest, Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768). Revered for his work in reviving the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism and as a luminary of the sort that only comes along once in every five centuries, Hakuin is such an important figure that if one were to trace the intellectual lineages of Rinzai priests, all would lead back to him. Living into his eighties, he devoted his life to the enlightenment of the people, achieving this partly through the large number of unique works he left behind. However much of his work is scattered among temples and personal collections, and opportunities for the public to view a significant proportion of his works have been exceedingly few and far between. This Hakuin exhibition is unprecedented in terms of both quality and quantity, and includes a careful selection of over one hundred works from over forty collections with a primary focus on large-scale works. The pictorial subjects painted by Hakuin cover an extremely wide range: images of Buddhist figures such as the Buddha, Bodhidharma, and Buddhist saints, subjects from folk beliefs such as the Seven Gods of Good Fortune and Ofuku-san, bringer of happiness and well-being, as well as personified animals such as monkeys and mice."-- Foreword.

Contents

Of English pamphlet: Foreword -- Hakuin's "wordy" Zen paintings / Yoshizawa Katsuhiro ; translated by Thomas Kirchner -- Giving Hakuin his place in art history / Yamashita Yūji ; translated by Fontaine Limited -- 'Glorify not the worldly appearances': Hakuin's works in calligraphy / Takahashi Toshirō ; translated by Fontaine Limited -- Catalogue entries / by Yoshizawa Katsuhiro, Yamashita Yuji, and Yajima Arata ; translated by Thomas Kirchner and Aaron Rio.