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One-Column Calligraphy on the Sound of Wind amidst Pines

late 17th century
Not on view
The Chan master Yinyuan Longqi founded Manpukuji Temple in Uji, on the southern outskirts of Kyoto, in 1661. His arrival in Japan from China marked a revitalization of Rinzai Zen monastic practice, and his robust calligraphy—in great demand by both followers and members of the public—established a legacy in which Ōbaku monks excelled in the medium. In this five-character line, Yinyuan evokes autumnal winds sweeping through the mountains, using synesthesia to capture the auditory and thermal shifts. It reads:

松聲千嶂冷

The sound of pines cools
a thousand mountain ridges.

—Trans. John T. Carpenter

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 隠元隆琦筆　一行書「松聲」
  • Title: One-Column Calligraphy on the Sound of Wind amidst Pines
  • Artist: Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) (Chinese, 1592–1673)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: late 17th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 47 1/4 × 10 1/2 in. (120 × 26.7 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 79 5/8 × 15 3/8 in. (202.2 × 39.1 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 79 5/8 × 17 9/16 in. (202.2 × 44.6 cm)
  • Classification: Calligraphy
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2023
  • Object Number: 2023.583.11
  • 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
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century
”Abiding nowhere, the awakened mind arises”, Musō Soseki Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
”Abiding nowhere, the awakened mind arises”
Musō Soseki
early to mid-14th century
Handscroll of Calligraphy by Ōbaku Zen Monks, Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) , and 41 other Ōbaku monks Chinese, Forty-three sheets mounted as a pair of handscrolls; ink on paper, Japan
Handscroll of Calligraphy by Ōbaku Zen Monks
Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki)
mid-17th to mid-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

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