A Passage from the Heart Sutra

This unsigned single-column calligraphy features the most famous phrase of the Heart Sutra (Hannya shingyō), “Form is none other than emptiness; emptiness is none other than form” (Shiki soku ze kū, kū soku ze shiki 色即是空空即是色), which succinctly summarizes the essence of Buddhist teachings. The brush writing bears a long-standing attribution to Emperor Go-Yōzei, with early authenticity statements. While it will be impossible to indisputably verify the attribution solely on stylistic grounds, it is well known that Go-Yōzei was profoundly influenced by the teachings and calligraphic styles of Zen temples in Kyoto. Some of the characters reveal the influence of the Daishi-ryū (Kōbō Daishi style), said to be based on highly idiosyncratic brush writing of Monk Kūkai (774–835), which enjoyed a revival in the early seventeenth century, and Go-Yōzei is often described as one of the calligraphers associated with this style. For instance, see the flamboyantly extended final stroke of the character ze 是. A work such as this, with both Zen and courtly resonances, would have been cherished at a hanging scroll in a tokonoma at a tea gathering during Go-Yōzei’s reign, when chanoyu and the display of calligraphy in the tokonoma were flourished.