Musō Soseki (1275–1351)
Nothing More Sacred Beyond
Ink on paper, hanging scroll
With authentication by Dairyu Sojo, Shinjuan Sokyo, and Shinjuan Sogen
Double box
Seal: Muso
97 x 27.5 cm
173 x 29.5 cm (overall)
With authentication by Dairyu Sojo, Shinjuan Sokyo, and Shinjuan Sogen
Double box
Seal: Muso
97 x 27.5 cm
173 x 29.5 cm (overall)
Further images
Provenance
Collection of Asada ChoheiExhibitions
Tanaka Shirozaemon-shi zohin nyusatsu. Tokyo: Tokyo Art Club, 1921.Shoga bijutsuhin tenkan nyusatsu uritatekai. Osaka: Osaka Bijutsu Kurabu, 1957.
Literature
Tayama Honan ed. Shoku zenrin bokuseki ge. Kamakura: Zenrin Bokuseki Kankokai, 1965.
Muso Soseki was a high-ranking priest of the Bukkoku branch of the Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism who lived during the late Kamakura and early Nanboku-cho periods. He is also known as Muso Kokushi (Muso, “teacher of the nation”), and is the dharma successor of Koho Ken’nichi (Bukkoku Kokushi). At the request of Ashikaga Takauji, Muso Soseki founded Tenryuji (Kyoto) and a number of other temples including Rinsenji, Tojiin, Shinyoji and Saihoji. Emperor Go-Daigo ordered him twice to serve as the head priest of Nanzenji (Kyoto), but he also lived in the prominent Zen temples Jochiji, Zuisenji and Engakuji (all Kamakura). Muso is also known for his many brilliant disciples, counting among his successors his nephew Shun’oku Myoha, Mugoku Shigen, Zekkai Chushin, and others. Muso’s lineage, also known as the Muso School, is regarded as a mainstay of medieval Zen Buddhism and contributed greatly to the flourishing of the so-called Literature of the Five Mountains, a vast body of prose and poetry composed by priests affiliated with the Five Mountain system of medieval Japanese Zen.
The text of this hanging scroll, written in a single line of cursive script, reads betsumu shoge, “nothing more sacred beyond.” There is no signature, but near the lower left corner one finds the impression of a seal in red ink reading “Muso” (the seal is of square shape, with a circle inside a double square border, inside of which there are the two characters of “Muso”). The mounting consists of futai decorative stripes and the inner enclosure (chu-mawashi) in purple, with a pattern of peonies in gold thread. The outer enclosure is done in a deep green. The work comes with three accompanying letters of authenticity: two by Sotai and Sogen, respectively (both of Shinjuan, a subtemple of Daitokuji), and another by Dairyu Sojo (of Gyokurin’in, also a subtemple of Daitokuji; Dairyu being the 341st abbot of Daitokuji).
The phrase “nothing more sacred beyond” is taken from a dialogue between Tianhuang Daowu and Longtan Chongxin, as recorded in Book 5: Master Longtan (Longtan Heshang) of the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (Zutangji). One time, when Longtan asked his master Tianhuang, “After all, is it possible to permanently make the Buddha heart one’s own?”, Tianhuang replied, “Just keep your ordinary heart, there’s nothing more sacred beyond it.” This episode refers to the comparison of the ordinary heart (the understanding of the world by the common people) to the sacred, or Buddha, heart (the understanding of the world by the enlightened), which according to Zen thought are in truth one and the same and therefore cannot be told apart. Hence, Tianhuang tells his disciple not to bother about understanding the difference of the ordinary to the sacred, but to keep his mind on his own heart and thereby attain enlightenment (which, after all, is the Buddha heart).
The present scroll demonstrates a relaxed handling of the brush; instead of connecting the cursively written characters into a continuous flow, each of them is executed separately. The strokes are evenly bold and exhibit little modulation. Past attempts at cleaning the surface of the work may have resulted in a loss of the ink’s density, yet this also contributes to its now patinated appearance. According to Tayama Honan the scroll dates to Muso’s later years beyond the age of seventy, when he had fully mastered cursive script, in other words, it was possibly done during the Jowa era (1345–1350).
Muso Soseki (Zen priest; 1275–1351)
Rinzai Zen monk of the Nanbokucho period, born in Ise. Soseki served as the head priest of Nanzenji in Kyoto and Engakuji in Kamakura. Emperor Go-Daigo and shogun Ashikaga Takauji were among his devout followers. He is the author of Nishiyama Night Conversations and Dialogues in a Dream.
The text of this hanging scroll, written in a single line of cursive script, reads betsumu shoge, “nothing more sacred beyond.” There is no signature, but near the lower left corner one finds the impression of a seal in red ink reading “Muso” (the seal is of square shape, with a circle inside a double square border, inside of which there are the two characters of “Muso”). The mounting consists of futai decorative stripes and the inner enclosure (chu-mawashi) in purple, with a pattern of peonies in gold thread. The outer enclosure is done in a deep green. The work comes with three accompanying letters of authenticity: two by Sotai and Sogen, respectively (both of Shinjuan, a subtemple of Daitokuji), and another by Dairyu Sojo (of Gyokurin’in, also a subtemple of Daitokuji; Dairyu being the 341st abbot of Daitokuji).
The phrase “nothing more sacred beyond” is taken from a dialogue between Tianhuang Daowu and Longtan Chongxin, as recorded in Book 5: Master Longtan (Longtan Heshang) of the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (Zutangji). One time, when Longtan asked his master Tianhuang, “After all, is it possible to permanently make the Buddha heart one’s own?”, Tianhuang replied, “Just keep your ordinary heart, there’s nothing more sacred beyond it.” This episode refers to the comparison of the ordinary heart (the understanding of the world by the common people) to the sacred, or Buddha, heart (the understanding of the world by the enlightened), which according to Zen thought are in truth one and the same and therefore cannot be told apart. Hence, Tianhuang tells his disciple not to bother about understanding the difference of the ordinary to the sacred, but to keep his mind on his own heart and thereby attain enlightenment (which, after all, is the Buddha heart).
The present scroll demonstrates a relaxed handling of the brush; instead of connecting the cursively written characters into a continuous flow, each of them is executed separately. The strokes are evenly bold and exhibit little modulation. Past attempts at cleaning the surface of the work may have resulted in a loss of the ink’s density, yet this also contributes to its now patinated appearance. According to Tayama Honan the scroll dates to Muso’s later years beyond the age of seventy, when he had fully mastered cursive script, in other words, it was possibly done during the Jowa era (1345–1350).
Muso Soseki (Zen priest; 1275–1351)
Rinzai Zen monk of the Nanbokucho period, born in Ise. Soseki served as the head priest of Nanzenji in Kyoto and Engakuji in Kamakura. Emperor Go-Daigo and shogun Ashikaga Takauji were among his devout followers. He is the author of Nishiyama Night Conversations and Dialogues in a Dream.