Lot 218: Ryokan Daigu (1757-1831) and Sekiryu Hankoku (19th Century)

Ryokan Daigu (1757-1831) and Sekiryu Hankoku (19th Century)
Portait of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) and his poem
Painting signed Hokkyo Sekiryu Hankoku and sealed Hankoku, poems inscribed by Ryokan
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
37¼ x 13¾in. (94.5 x 35cm.)
With certificate by calligraphy scholar Komatsu Shigemi, box signed by Nihonga painter Yasuda Yukihiko

The first poem, from Basho's anthology Oku no hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), reads:

Akaakato hi wa tsurenakumo aki no kaze
Winds don't know the bright sunshine's mind in autumn

and the second, a Chinese poem, reads in transliterated Japanese:

Datsuraku shinshin isuru hito nashi
Senko shufu yuyo o kumu.

By killing my ego my body becomes light, I need not ask anything of anyone. Since ancient times, the same autumn wind blows and the same sun sets.