陳蒲鞋偈頌画賛 (Chin Poai geju gasan)|Inscription on the anonymous painting of Chen Puxie

Ikkyū Sōjun 一休宗純

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

Ikkyū Sōjun, an erudite monk of the Rinzai Zen sect, built a reputation as one of medieval Japan’s great eccentrics and religious iconoclasts, in part through his poetry in Chinese. The four poems he brushed on this scroll originally appeared in his Crazy Cloud Anthology (Kyōunshū), forming the first half of the section Eight Poems about Chen Puxie, which addresses the internal conflicts among, and the decline of, the Buddhist schools. Beneath is an unsigned, imaginary portrait of the Chinese monk mentioned in the section’s title. Muzhou Daoming (780–877) devoted so much of his daily routine to plaiting rush sandals that he became known as “Rush-Sandal Chen” (Chen Puxie). He would hang the shoes from the eaves of his temple to give or sell to passersby.

Artist

Ikkyū Sōjun 一休宗純

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, 2021