The characters on this hanging scroll expresses devotion to the bodhisattva Maitreya (J. Miroku). [The first two characters read namu, meaning “Homage to” or “I take refuge in,” represent a devotional invocation calling the name of a buddha. The next four characters,] torai doshi, [which literally means “teacher/guide of the hereafter,”] refers to Maitreya, who is believed to appear in this world 5.67 billion years after the passing of the historic buddha Shakyamuni. The work here is one of the few known examples of a calligraphy invoking a Buddha’s name by Matsuo Basho (1644–1694).

The storage box bears the inscription, “This hanging scroll was owned by an old pupil in Bijo (today, Nagoya), and was entrusted to Chitori-an as the family treasure, signed Korishu.” Although the name of this pupil is unknown, the inscription by Korishu (the pseudonym of Sengoku Rogenbo) informs that Chidori-an (Niwa Ishi) received this scroll, which he made a family heirloom. Niwa Ishi (d. 1759) and Sengoku Rogenbo (d. 1749) were both pupils of Kagami Shiko, one of Basho’s ten great disciples, and of the same generation. Rogenbo succeeded Shiko in solidifying the foundation of his teacher’s humorous poetry group, the Mino school.

This scroll has long been known to exist and was also included in the Collection of Brushworks by Basho (1930) and the Complete Pictorial Collection of Basho (1993). According to the commentary by Basho scholar Okada Rihe’e (1892–1982) in the Collection of Brushworks and the description in the Pictorial Collection, scholars believed this scroll, described as “Single-line calligraphy, Torai Doshi,” was originally owned by Shiko. A letter explains that Shiko tried to sell calligraphic works by Basho, which he owned, in order to pay for and erect a memorial tablet in honor of his master Basho at Sorin-ji Temple in southern Kyoto. From this missive, it appears that Shiko sold the work, which passed into the hands of a pupil in Bijo and was then inherited by Ishi. However, in recent years, another calligraphy inscribed with the same invocation for the bodhisattva Maitreya, which may likely be the “Single-line calligraphy, Torai Doshi,” owned by Shiko, was discovered and is now in the collection of the Kakimori Bunko Archives. In other words, our work appears to be a different scroll from the one sold by Shiko, and its provenance can simply be understood as an old disciple of Basho asking his master to brush a calligraphy, which Niwa Ishi later acquired, as recorded on the box.

In Haikai Yosetsu, a collection of anecdotes on haiku poets compiled by Takakuwa Ranko (1726–1798), who idolized Basho, there is a story about Ikoma Manshi, who became Basho’s pupil in Kanazawa prefecture. Once when Basho traveled to Kanazawa, everyone requested a haiku inscribed on a tanzaku, a thin strip of paper for poems, but Manshi asked him to inscribe the five characters, “Namu Torai Butsu,” which Manshi enshrined as the central object of worship in his home. This anecdote exemplifies Manshi’s devotion to Basho and his desire to be close to the master. The pupils generally would not readily ask for a work by the master, which explains why so few extant examples of such devotional inscriptions exist, though it seems that those close to Basho occasionally requested devotional calligraphic works. Considering that Manshi and Shiko, who had a deep connection with Basho, both owned a devotional appellation of Maitreya Bodhisattva in the master’s hand, it seems highly plausible that the “old pupil,” who previously owned the calligraphy here, also had a close relationship with Basho.

Matsuo Basho (haiku poet; 1644–1694)
A native of Iga Province (today Mie Prefecture), Basho initially served his local feudal lord but in 1666 abandoned his warrior status and moved to Edo. He first mastered the Teimon style and then the Danrin style of haikai poetry, but eventually left the urban poetry circles. Elevating the status of the hokku (starting verse of a linked verse session, now known as haiku), Basho established his own Shofu style. Many of his works reflect is his travels in rural or remote areas.