Ink Drawing of Bodhidharma

Zuikō Chingyū (1743-1822) was a Zen monk of the Sōtō sect in the late Edo period. He lived at Myōonji Temple in Nagato, Kannon’in Temple and Tōkōji Temple in Higo, Zenkyūin Temple in Shinano, Ryūtaiji Temple in Mino, and Hokkeji Temple in Settsu, among others. In Bunka 4 (1817), he established Manshōji Temple in Nagoya at the request of Tokugawa Naritomo, the daimyō (Japanese military lord) of the Owari domain. In Bunsei 3 (1820), he retired to Keiunken in the same province. He was a Zen monk who excelled in calligraphy and painting, representing the latter half of the Edo period, and left behind many calligraphic works characterized by delicate and soft brush strokes. He also created illustrations for Dōgen’s biographies, such as “Teiho Kenzeikizue” and “Eihei Dōgen Zenji Gyōjōzue,” contributing to the popularization of Dōgen’s pictorial biographies.

Jakushitsu Kenkō (1753-1833) was a Zen monk of the Sōtō sect in the late Edo period. He was also known as Hyōko Dōjin. After traveling to various temples, he inherited the Dharma of Kaigai Ryōten of Shōzanji Temple in Nagato. He served as the 20th and 24th resident priest of Myōseiji and Kōzanji Temples in Nagato, the 17th resident priest of Gōtokuji Temple in Musashi, and the 19th resident priest of Seiryōji Temple in Ōmi Province. He also founded Tenneiji Temple in Ōmi Province.
He was a younger disciple of Zuikō Chingyū. In contrast to Chingyū’s unconventional and free personality, Kenkō is said to have had a stern Zen style. He was one of the representative Zen painters of the late Edo period, specializing in Buddhist and ancestral virtue paintings, and left behind many poems and artworks. He was also well-versed in the Precepts and devoted himself to understanding not only Buddhist monks but also laypeople.

Jakushitsu Kenkō, who added his inscription, was a younger disciple of Chingyū. Chingyū and Kenkō, along with Taigu Ryōkan and Fūgai Honkō, were the leading Noh calligraphers and painters of the period. Although many works by Chingyū and Kenkō still exist, their paintings are rare.