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“Udumbara Flowers” (Udonge) Temple Plaque

Inscription by Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) Chinese
carved 1741
Not on view
This plaque preserves the calligraphy of the Chinese monk Yinyuan Longqi, the founding abbot of the Ōbaku Zen monastery Manpukuji. Such carved wooden plaques with inscriptions in the brush writing of famous Chinese monks were prominently displayed on the portals and in the halls of Ōbaku monasteries. Udumbara flowers symbolize the transmission of the dharma from master to disciple, since the historic Buddha is said to have held such a blossom when preaching to followers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 隱元隆琦書　「優曇華」額
  • Title: “Udumbara Flowers” (Udonge) Temple Plaque
  • Artist: Inscription by Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) (Chinese, 1592–1673)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: carved 1741
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Carved wood; lacquer, color, and gold
  • Dimensions: 23 1/4 × 46 7/16 in. (59 × 118 cm)
  • Classification: Lacquer
  • Credit Line: Gift of Kurt A. Gitter and Alice Yelen Gitter, from the Gitter-Yelen Foundation
  • Object Number: 2023.584
  • 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
Flying Apsaras (Hiten), Japanese cypress with lacquer and gold, Japan
Flying Apsaras (Hiten)
Japan
late 11th to early 12th 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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