Monk Zhaozhou and Dog, with Geese and Mynah

first half 17th century

Not on view

This work combines three seemingly unrelated subjects in a single, multi-scroll composition, a format common in early Zen devotional painting and adopted widely during the sixteenth century. The central scroll illustrates the Chan monk Zhaozhou Congshen (Jōshū Jūshin, 778–897), perhaps best remembered for his response to the koan “Does a dog have a Buddha nature?” He replied simply, “Wu,” meaning on one level “no.” In a Zen mindset, however, this may have been a short verbal signal to stop the logical process of trying to find an answer. Zhaozhou is flanked by so-called bird-and-flower subjects, originating in China—two geese and autumnal reeds at right, and a mynah atop a tree stump at left. The artist Tōeki belonged to the Unkoku school, painters-in-attendance to the powerful Mōri clan.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

雲谷等益筆　趙州狗子・芦雁・叭々鳥図
Title: Monk Zhaozhou and Dog, with Geese and Mynah
Artist: Unkoku Tōeki (Japanese, 1591–1644)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: first half 17th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Set of three hanging scrolls; ink on paper
Dimensions: Image (each): 42 3/8 × 18 1/4 in. (107.6 × 46.4 cm)
Overall with mounting (each): 76 1/4 × 21 in. (193.7 × 53.3 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2021
Object Number: 2021.398.14a–c
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Unkoku Tōeki

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Japanese
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Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu, Ni Zan Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China — Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu
Ni Zan
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Zen Master with Meditation Staff, and Chinese-Style Landscapes, Unkoku Tōeki Japanese, Set of three hanging scrolls; ink on paper, Japan — Zen Master with Meditation Staff, and Chinese-Style Landscapes
Painting attributed to Unkoku Tōeki
Calligraphy by Ten'yū Jōkō
probably late 1620s–1644

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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