Ink Drawing of Xiangyan Attaining a Great Enlightenment upon Hearing the Sound of a Bamboo Hit by a Stone

Yamaguchi Sekkei (1648-1732) was an ink painter influenced by the Kanō school. He was also known as Hakuin and Baian. It is said that he was named after Sesshū and Muqi, two of the most famous ink painters in Japan and China, respectively. Among his representative works are the wall paintings at Shunpōin, Hōrin’in, and Genkōan Temple, ‘Kaede Sakurazu byōbu’ (Daigoji Temple), and ‘Shōshō Hakkeizu byōbu’ (Art Institute of Chicago).

Manzan Dōhaku (1636-1715) was a Sōtō Zen monk during the mid-Edo period. He was born in Bingo Province. He inherited the Dharma of Gesshū Sōko, and in Enpō 8 (1680) succeeded Gesshū as the 27th head of Daijōji Temple in Kaga. After ten years, he left the temple and went on to serve at Kōzenji Temple in Settsu and Zenjōji Temple in Yamashiro before opening Genkōan Temple in Kyoto. In Genroku 13 (1700), along with Baihō Jikushin and others, he appealed to the magistrate for temples and shrines to ensure that the sect’s lineage was not disturbed. This led to the enactment of the Eiheiji Temple and Sōjiji Temple Hatto (laws) in Genroku 16 (1703). Since then, he referred to himself as ‘Fukko Rōjin.’ He is recognized as the leader of the Sōtō sect’s revival.

This painting is attributed to Xiangyan Chihan (?-898), a monk of the Tang Dynasty. While cleaning the house one day, a pebble suddenly flew over and hit a bamboo stick, and Xiangyan attained enlightenment from the sound. The work includes a praise (seven-character quatrain) from Manzan’s final year, in Shōtoku 5 (1715), when he was 80 years old. This painting is a collaboration between a prominent painter of the day and a Zen monk.