ARTIST :
The portrait of Daruma is sealed Towa. This, along with the style of painting which combines traditional ink-painting techniques with Kano school coloring almost certainly points to the artist being a member of the Unkoku school. The Unkoku school was founded by Unkoku Togan (1547-1618) in the Momoyama period and its followers considered themselved to be in the lineage of Sesshu Touyou (1420-1506). The name Unkoku derives from the temple where the Zen priest Sesshu (1420–1506) had his studio. Sesshu was considered the greatest suiboku (ink painting) artist of the Muromachi period. Togan adopted the name to pay homage to the great painter, and moreover, claimed for himself the title Sesshu III. Members of the school served the Mori clan as Kakae-eshi (daimyo sponsored painters). Many of its members lived in or near Hagi, Suo Province, the fuedal capital of the clan. After Togan, Toeki is the most renowned artist of the school, calling himself the fourth generation Sesshu. He and his sons continued the Unkoku school through the 17th and early 18th centuries. The school eventually continued into the 19th century. The names of the artists invariably begin with the character 'to'. The seals accompanying the calligraphy read 'Mujo Gehan' and 'Rozan'. This is the work of a priest named Rozan Genhan (real name Hanshu). See Araki p.2472. |
DESCRIPTION :
Bodhidharma portraits were given to Zen disciples and hung as images of devotion in reminder of the contiunous and true transmission of the Buddhist Law (Dharma). This image of Daruma is accompanied by an inscription dated the third year of the Kanpo era, 1743. The descrptive portrait shows Daruma wrapped in a red robe, his large nose, bushy eyebrows and oversized earrings immediately recognizable features. |
