Portrait

Portrait of Miyun Yuanwu (1566-1642) by Kita Genki (d.u.), With Inscription by Yinyuan Longqi (1592-1673)

This is a chinzō (Portrait) by the painter Kita Genki, with an inscription by Yinyuan Longqi. The model of the statue, Miyun Yuanwu (1566-1642), was the teacher of Feiyin Tongrong. He was a grandson and disciple of Miyun, and studied under Miyun himself. His style was admired by many people, which is the way of training by receiving slaps with a stick for preaching.

Kita Genki, who painted this chinzō, is highly regarded as the leading artist of Ōbaku portraits, and painted many chinzō of successive Ōbaku patriarchs, including Yinyuan, Muan, Jifei, and so on. Although the date of his birth and death as well as his career are still unknown, he is known as a son or disciple of Kita Dōku (?-1663), a portrait painter of Ōbaku. His works can be seen between Kanbun 3 (1663), the year of Dōku’s death, and Hōei 6 (1709). This chinzō is considered to be a relatively early work of him, and it is safe to say that it is a symbolic work of the Ōbaku portrait style with its vivid colors and three-dimensional expression using Western-style shading.

Yinyuan’s inscription praises Miyun’s virtuousness, represents the seventy-seven years of his life, and refers to the spread of Dharma across the sea by his twelve disciples such as Yinyuan who received a slap with a stick strictly.