Couplet from the Chinese Poem “Grasses” by Bai Juyi
A scroll with boldly inscribed Chinese characters by or attributed to a prominent Zen monk such as Motsurin Jōtō would have been used for display in an alcove during a tea ceremony. Motsurin Jōtō, or Bokusai, was a close disciple of the famous Zen monk Ikkyū (1394–1481) of Daitokuji. Because of this close connection, Motsurin’s briskly brushed calligraphy closely resembles that of his master.
Here he has brushed a couplet by the Tang poet Bai Juyi (772–846):
Wild grasses spread out
far across the plains.
Each year they wither,
only to flourish again.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
Here he has brushed a couplet by the Tang poet Bai Juyi (772–846):
Wild grasses spread out
far across the plains.
Each year they wither,
only to flourish again.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
Artwork Details
- 没倫紹等書「離離原上草一歳一枯榮」 （白居易『草』より）
- Title: Couplet from the Chinese Poem “Grasses” by Bai Juyi
- Artist: Motsurin Jōtō (Bokusai) (Japanese, died 1492)
- Period: Muromachi period (1392–1573)
- Date: 15th century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 46 3/4 × 10 3/8 in. (118.8 × 26.4 cm)
Overall with mounting: 74 11/16 × 10 15/16 in. (189.7 × 27.8 cm)
Overall with knobs: 74 11/16 × 12 1/2 in. (189.7 × 31.8 cm) - Classification: Calligraphy
- Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
- Object Number: 2015.300.239
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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