Portrait of Gesshū Sōko

Chitō Shōgen (1665-1739) was a Sōtō Zen monk during the mid-Edo period, born in Uji, Yamashiro. He studied under Gesshū Sōko and inherited the Dharma from Manzan Dōhaku. He served as the 33rd head priest of Kaga Daijōji Temple for 13 years beginning in Kyōhō 2 (1717).

This painting features an inscription by Chitō on his master Gesshū’s chinzō (portrait). Traditionally, a disciple would create the master’s chinzō, and the master would add inscriptions of praise and Dharma words to the portrait as a symbol of transmission. Over time, this practice evolved as an expression of respect and admiration for the virtues of the past masters. While chinzō can face right or left, the frontal view depicted here is believed to have been influenced by the style of the Ōbaku school. The first and second lines of the five-character quatrain in the inscription are taken from “Hongzhi’s Extensive Record.”