六祖・芦雁・叭々鳥図|Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, with Geese and Myna

Unkoku Tōeki 雲谷等益

first half 17th century · Set of three hanging scrolls; ink on paper · Asian Art

This work combines three seemingly unrelated subjects in a single, multi-scroll composition, a format common in early Zen devotional painting and adopted widely during the sixteenth century. The central scroll illustrates the Chan monk Zhaozhou Congshen (Jōshū Jūshin, 778–897), perhaps best remembered for his response to the koan “Does a dog have a Buddha nature?” He replied simply, “Wu,” meaning on one level “no.” In a Zen mindset, however, this may have been a short verbal signal to stop the logical process of trying to find an answer. Zhaozhou is flanked by so-called bird-and-flower subjects, originating in China—two geese and autumnal reeds at right, and a mynah atop a tree stump at left. The artist Tōeki belonged to the Unkoku school, painters-in-attendance to the powerful Mōri clan.

Artist

Unkoku Tōeki 雲谷等益

Date

first half 17th century

Medium

Set of three hanging scrolls; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2021