Portrait of Shingan Dōkū

Shingan Dōkū (1374-1449) was a Sōtō Zen monk of the Muromachi period. He succeeded to a dharma of Jochū Tengin, and his successors included the Zen monk Sensō Esai. He succeeded to Tōjuin Temple in Ōmi Province, which was founded by his zen master Jochū. Shingan first studied Esoteric Buddhism and lived across the valley from Tōjuin Temple, but when he heard of Jochū’s fame, he visited Tōjuin Temple and was so impressed by his teachings that he became his disciple. Later, he established the foundation of the Shingan sect, which is said to have 400 temples.

This document is a portrait of Shingan Dōkū, the second generation of Tōjuin Temple. A Zen priest’s portrait is called a “chinzō.” The first chinzō of Shigan was painted in Kyōtoku 2 (1453), four years after his death, and a copy was made with an inscription by Esai, the third generation of Tōjuin Temple. However, this chinzō was destroyed by fire in a war, and later this chinzō was made by Taiying Shixing, the eighth generation of Tōjuin Temple. On the upper part of the chinzō is a copy of the inscription of Sensō Esai by Taiying Shixing and a detailed description of the process of recreating the chinzō.