Lot 160: Mokuan Shoto (1611-1684)

Zen text
Sealed Mokuan To in, Shoho eisho and Rinzai seishu
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
11 7/8 x 17 3/8in. (30.1 x 44.1cm.)

The Chinese monk Mokuan was a noted calligrapher, painter and poet. He emigrated to Japan in 1655 and joined with Ingen Ryuki (1592-1663) in founding Manpukuji, a temple near Uji, south of Kyoto, built in the Ming Chinese style. Manpukuji became a center of Obaku Zen Buddhism and served as a conduit for Chinese culture, including calligraphy, literati painting, sencha (Steeped Chinese-tea practice) and Confucianism. Mokuan served as the second abbot of Manpukuji from 1664-1680.