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Kannon on a Lotus Petal

Painting by Shōzan Gen’yō Japanese
Inscription by Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) Chinese
Inscription by Mu'an Xingtao (Mokuan Shōtō) Chinese
1672
Not on view
This painting of Guanyin (Kannon, in Japan) encapsulates the remarkable history of the Ōbaku school of Zen, which was brought from China to Japan in the seventeenth century. The school’s religious and political influence would grow to hold sway even in the imperial palace in Kyoto. The painting is by an imperial princess, daughter of the highly cultured and spiritually inclined Emperor Go-Mizunoo. Genyō trained in Zen teachings and meditation practice in her youth, and then encouraged her father to support Ingen and his Ōbaku sect. The two inscriptions on this painting are by Yinyuan (on the left) and his top pupil Muan.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 照山元瑶筆　隠元隆琦 ・ 木庵性瑫賛　一葉観音図
  • Title: Kannon on a Lotus Petal
  • Artist: Painting by Shōzan Gen’yō (Japanese, 1634–1727)
  • Artist: Inscription by Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) (Chinese, 1592–1673)
  • Artist: Inscription by Mu'an Xingtao (Mokuan Shōtō) (Chinese, 1611–1684)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: 1672
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 16 9/16 × 23 7/16 in. (42 × 59.5 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 53 3/8 × 29 in. (135.6 × 73.7 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 53 3/8 × 31 1/8 in. (135.6 × 79.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2018
  • Object Number: 2018.853.21
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
“The Way of the patriarchs spans a thousand years”, Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
“The Way of the patriarchs spans a thousand years”
Attributed to Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki)
17th or 18th century
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu, Ni Zan Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu
Ni Zan
dated 1372
The Gateway Character “Lotus” , Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan

The Gateway Character “Lotus”

Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki)
Inscription by Mu'an Xingtao (Mokuan Shōtō)
Inscription by Jifei Ruyi (Sokuhi Nyoitsu)
ca. 1663–64
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century

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