Furyu ichi moji [Not establishing a word]

Furyu ichi moji [Not establishing a word]

Maker Obaku Mokuan (Japanese, 1611–1684)

Date17th century

MediumHanging scroll: ink on paper

Dimensions50 3/4 × 19 3/8 inches (128.9 × 49.2 cm)

PeriodEdo period

ClassificationsCalligraphy

Credit LineThe George and Mary Rockwell Collection

Terms

Calligraphy
Scroll
Hanging scroll: ink
Buddhism
Calligraphy
Inscriptions
Religion
Zen
Paper
Japanese

Object number2000.032.003

Label CopyKnown as one of the "Three Brushes of Obaku," Mokuan, whose Chinese name is Mu-an, came from Fujian province, where he began his life as a Zen monk at the age of eighteen. Together with Ingen Ryuki (Yinyuan Longqi), another Chinese Zen master who traveled to Japan, they founded Manpuku-ji, near Kyoto, the main temple of the Obaku sect. Obaku is the most Chinese of the Japanese Zen Buddhist sects. After Ingen retired as head abbot, Mokuan became abbot of Manpuku-ji and thus the second patriarch of Obaku. Mokuan was especially admired for his bold, large-character calligraphy. The left scroll refers to the mind-to-mind transmission of the Zen spirit, which is beyond the range of words. The center scroll could also be interpreted, "After receiving enlightenment one sees clearly."

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