東坡戴笠図|Su Dongpo in a Borrowed Hat

Unidentified|Osen Keisan

late 15th century · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

This painting depicts the Song-dynasty poet Su Dongpo (1037–1101), exiled on Hainan Island, in a borrowed bamboo hat and clogs during a sudden downpour. The poem was brushed by Ōsen Keisan, one of the most prominent Zen monks of the fifteenth century. It reads: 雲霧窓耶烟雨村 居中補外捴天恩 九州四海笠簷底 百是千非屐齒痕 Clouds and mist fill the window, alas, as the village is shrouded in rain and fog. Whether [an official] serving at court or dispatched to the provinces, both are at the behest of the emperor’s benevolence. The realm of the Nine Provinces and Four Seas lies beneath the brim of his bamboo hat. Hundreds of rights and thousands of wrongs are tracked by the footprints of his wooden clogs —Trans. Tim T. Zhang

Artist

Unidentified|Osen Keisan

Date

late 15th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2018