Calligraphy by Sekkoku Sokai

Hakata has prospered as Japan’s gateway of exchange with the outside world since ancient times. It was a very important hub for international as well as domestic trade in the medieval period. Zen temples established in Hakata served as centers of trading and Zen monks were expected to play the role of diplomats in those days.
Calligraphic works displayed here were brought into Japan through the long-term wish of Zen priests of Myorakuji Temple in Hakata. The temple was called “The Stop for Envoys to the Tang Dynasty” and served as a diplomatic outpost of the Muromachi government.
This calligraphy is a part of the postscript attached to “Kukyu Juei”, a series of poems composed by Kidou Chigu, a Zen monk of the Southern Sung Dynasty of China. He selected ten sites of scenic beauty in Mt. Kukyu and composed the poems. The postscript displayed here written by Sekkoku Sokai is the last among 13 postscripts created for the poem by different people in a later period.
The poem and the postscript were eventually brought to Myorakuji Temple in Japan after being transferred from one place to another in China over a long period of time. Kouchu Souryu, the 7th chief priest of the Myorakuji Temple, wanted to go to China himself and bring the calligraphic work of Kidou Chigu, but his wish was not granted. Sekiin Souyo, the 8th chief priest, succeeded Kouchu Souryu, and had the same wish but was too old to realize it. So he offered prayers for the calligraphic works to be delivered to his temple by Japanese monks studying in China. About 100 years later, in 1477, Sekkoku Sokai, a Chinese priest, wrote the exhibited postscript. The poem “Kukyu Juei” was composed around 1225~1227 in the period of the Sung Dynasty, and the first postscript was written in 1288. Therefore, about 250 years had passed since Kidou Chigu first composed the original poem when Sekkoku Sokai finally arranged to send the calligraphic works to Japan. The arrangement was made when the poem was in Yunnan Province in China.
During the beginning of the Age of Warring States, the poem and the postscript were brought to Myorakuji Temple. Then they were presented to Kuroda Nagamasa, lord of the feudal domain of Fukuoka, in the Keicho period (1596~1615). Later the ownership changed from Tokugawa Hidetada, Tokugawa Iemitsu, to Sakai Tadakiyo, and presently they are under the collection of the MOA Museum of Art. Among 13 postscripts originally created, only 7 of them still exist today. They are under the separate collection of the Fukuoka City Museum, the Idemitsu Museum, the MOA Museum of Art, The Museum Yamato Bunkakan and private individuals.