Ink Drawing of De-shan Xuan-jian

This painting was created by Shōkadō Shōjō (1584 [or 1582] -1639) and inscribed by Takuan Sōhō (1573-1645).

Shōkadō Shōjō was a monk of the Shingon sect of Buddhism and a Noh calligrapher in the early Edo period, born in Settsu Province. He was also known as Seiseiō, Kūshiki, and other names. In Keichō 5 (1600), he became a monk living at Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine (Kyoto Prefecture), where he studied esoteric Buddhism. In Kan’ei 4 (1627), he succeeded as the resident priest of Takimotobō.

He excelled in calligraphy and painting, and was one of the three greatest calligraphers of the Kan’ei era, alongside Hon’ami Kōetsu and Konoe Nobutada. He founded the Takimoto school (style of Shōkad), and his calligraphy was widely published as models. His painting style was a mixture of the Tosa and Kanō schools, and he left behind many works. He was also well-versed in the tea ceremony, and the tea utensils he collected are highly valued among tea masters as ‘Yawata Meibutsu (masterpieces in Yawata).’

In Kan’ei 14 (1637), after handing over Takimotobō to his younger brother, he established ‘Shōkadō’ on a hill south of Takimotobō, where he lived in seclusion and practiced the way of elegance. He was a representative cultural figure of the Kan’ei era, having had extensive contact with Buddhist monks, tea masters, and the warrior class, such as Takuan Sōhō, Kobori Enshū, and Tokugawa Yoshinao.

It is said that the Shōkadō bentō (lunchbox) was modeled after the toolbox used by Shōjō. Shōjō reportedly made his own box, inspired by the seed containers used by farmers, and used it as a paint box or a tobacco tray for tea ceremonies. A Ryōtei (Japanese-style restaurant) owner, who heard this story, invented the Shōkadō bentō with a cross-shaped divider at the end of the Taishō period, which is said to be the origin of the Shōkadō bentō.

This drawing is from October Kan’ei 15 (1638), when Takuan was 66 years old. In July of that year, Takuan gave a lecture on “Gen’ninron” to Retired Emperor Gomizunō, and in Edo, Tokugawa Iemitsu was about to establish the foundations of Tōkaiji Temple in Shinagawa. At the time, Shōjō was 56 years old, the year after Shōkadō was built.

The figure sitting with a stick represents the Tang Dynasty Zen monk Deshan Xuanjian (780-865). He was called ‘Deshan’s wooden elder staff’ because he treated scholars severely by wielding a stick. Together with Linji Yixuan’s ‘Diamond King shout,’ the founder of the Linji sect in China, it is often referred to as a phrase that expresses the sharp Zen style of mind. Since drawings of Deshan usually feature a pair with Linji or a trio with Bodhidharma, Linji, and Deshan, it is thought that this painting was originally intended as part of a pair or a trio.