Tranquil Spirit, circa 1680

Details

Kosen Shoton (1633-1695)
Tranquil Spirit, circa 1680
Signed Rinzai sanju-yon sei and Obaku Kosen sho, sealed Rinzai shoshu, Shoton no in and Ichiji Kosen
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
50¼ x 11¾in. (127.6 x 29.8cm.)

Literature

John M. Rosenfield with Fumiko E. Cranston, Extraordinary Persons: Works by Eccentric, Nonconformist Japanese Artists of the Early Modern Era (1580-1868) in the Collection of Kimiko and John Powers, Vol. 1 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Art Museums, 1999), pp. 232-33, no. 59.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

Lot Essay

Kosen Shoton (Chinese: Gaoquan Xingdun) was the fifth abbot of Manpukuji, Kyoto, a temple of the Chinese Obaku sect of Zen Buddhism.
The Chinese inscription has been translated:

A tranquil spirit portends a prosperous year.

Translation by Fumiko E. Cranston from Extraordinary Persons, Vol. 1 (1999), p. 232.

This passage was taken from Kido-roku, or the Sayings of Xutang Zhiyu (Japanese: Kido Chigu; 1185–1269), a well-known Zen monk of the Song period.

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