Sengai: master Zen painter

Abstract

"Sengai: Master Zen Painter is the portrait of a Japanese Zen priest of the mid-eighteenth century whose work embodies the essence of humor in the Zen tradition. Sengai was a Zen master with a profound insight into life, but more importantly he was able to express this insight in ink paintings and calligraphy that are replete with wisdom, simplicity, and humor. Sengai is a revealing look at his entire life - from his childhood when he was placed in a Zen temple because of family financial difficulties to the time of his retirement as abbot of the historical Shōfukuji temple. The focus is on the humor that characterizes not only his work but Zen itself, the symbolic representation of enlightenment in his work, and the lessons that he has to teach modern man. This concise, acute narrative of Sengai's life is followed by the book's centerpiece: seventy-four plates showing paintings, calligraphy, and tea utensils. Many of these pieces were impromptu creations, and perhaps for that reason reveal the character of their creator more faithfully than could any carefully planned work of art. Each is a visual representation of Sengai's inner life, and is accompanied by the author's lively commentary which highlights the wit and underlying profundity that is Sengai's real legacy to the world. Sengai: Master Zen Painter closes with supplementary material supplied by the translator that readers can refer to as the need arises: a list of exhibitions held to date outside Japan; notes and commentary; original Japanese and Chinese versions of poems and calligraphy; a list of figures and plates; a table of Japanese and Chinese pronunciations; and a selected bibliography. For those interested in Zen, calligraphy, or art, Sengai is the fascinating story of how these disciplines can be fully integrated in the being of one remarkable man."-- On front flap of dust jacket.