Ink Drawing of Plum Blossoms

Kyokai Tōryū (1779-1853) was a Zen monk of the Sōtō sect in the late Edo period. He lived at Daishōji Temple in Shinano and Jōanji Temple in Shima, and in Tenpō 3 (1832) became the 22nd abbot of Gōtokuji Temple in Musashi, where he remained until his mausoleum.
He excelled in painting and poetry, and as his name “Umedōjin” indicates, he loved calligraphy and paintings related to Ume (the Japanese apricot). He also devoted himself to the upliftment of the spirit of the sect by annotating Dōgen’s writings.

This is a painting of a Japanese apricot tree loved by Kyokai. This was made in Kaei 5 (1852), at the age of 74.