Ink Drawing of Avalokiteśvara on the Rock

Ink Drawing of Avalokiteśvara on the Rock by Yiran Xingrong (1601-1668), With Inscription by Yinyuan Longqi (1592-1673)

This Ink Drawing of the Avalokiteśvara was painted by Yiran Xingrong (1601-1668), with an inscription by Yinyuan Longqi. Yiran came to Nagasaki Prefecture in Kan’ei 18 (1641) as a medicine merchant. In Shōhō 1 (1644), he studied under Mozi Ruding (Jp. Mokusu Nyojō), the 2nd resident priest of Kōfukuji Temple in Nagasaki Prefecture, and succeeded to Kōfukuji Temple the following year. Yiran is praised for his contribution in making Yinyuan’s visit to Japan possible. Originally, Yelan Xinggui, a disciple of Yinyuan, was supposed to come to Japan, but he was lost during his trip and had to invite Yinyuan. Yiran sent four letters of invitation to Yinyuan, and his visit to Japan was finally realized.

Yiran excelled at painting, and as he was called the “founder of Chinese style painting,” he played a role in introducing a new style of painting in the Ming and Qing styles. In contrast to Kita Dōku, Genki, and others who specialized in paintings of the chinzō (Portrait) of successive Ōbaku patriarchs, Yiran excelled in Buddhist and patriarchal paintings of Śākyamuni, Avalokiteśvara, Dharma, patriarchs, and others.

This work was painted in Kanbun 2 (1662) and has an inscription by Yinyuan. The Avalokiteśvara seated on a rock in the sea is reminiscent of the style of Muromachi Suibokuga (Ink painting), indicating that he had also studied traditional Japanese painting. Yinyuan’s inscription of Avalokiteśvara is included in “Fumon Goroku” as a inscription of Avalokiteśvara, and he also gave the same inscription in “Kan’nonzuchō.”