Calligraphy of Three Five-character Lines (有星皆拱北)

Jikishi Gentan (?-1776) was a Sōtō Zen monk of the mid-Edo period. He succeeded to the Dharma of Tenkei Denson. He became the second resident priest of Yōshōan Temple in Settsu, where Tenkei founded his school, and propagated the style of Tenkei to many of his disciples. He also wrote a biography of Tenkei, “Taizō shiso Tenkei Denson oshō Nenpu.” In Kyōhō 12 (1727), he became the 18th resident priest of Kenshōji Temple in Sanuki, and in Kan’en 1 (1748), the 16th resident priest of Kōshōji Temple in Uji. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Dōgen’s death, he built a mausoleum in Kōshōji Temple where Dōgen’s remains and portrait are enshrined. In Hōreki 3 (1753), he retired from Kōshōji Temple and entered Hōonji Temple in Settsu.

This Calligraphy was written by Jikishi when he was 78 years old. The date is unknown because his birth year is unknown, but the signature indicates that the calligraphy was written after his retirement from Kōshōji Temple. This Calligraphy and another one “無水不朝東” express the idea that all things come back to their original nature.