Page 94 - Bonhams May 2017 London Fine Japanese Art

163*

HAKUIN EKAKU (1685-1768)
Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1760
Kakejiku (vertical hanging scroll), ink on paper in silk mounts, an inka
certificate issued by Hakuin, recognizing the recipient’s successful
attainment of Zen enlightenment, depicting a Zen priest’s hossu (ritual
whisk) wrapped around a staff, the top of the staff in the form of a
dragon’s head, the carrying cord for the staff wrapped around the
lower jaw, on either side a written dedication to a Mr Konagatani of
Suruga Province; with a wooden storage box.
Overall 203.2cm x 45cm (80in x 17¾in),
image 133.5cm x 28.4cm (52½in x 11 1/8in). (2).

£15,000 - 18,000
JPY2,100,000 - 2,500,000
US$19,000 - 22,000

Hakuin frequently gave Ryujo hossu (Dragon Staff and Whisk) scrolls to
his lay followers, a practice based on Case Number 60 in the seminal
Zen text Hekiganroku, where Zen master Unmon states that his staff
has transformed itself into a dragon and swallowed the universe.
Hakuin’s early depictions of staffs are quite literal but we know
from dated examples that by the late 1750s the top of the staff had
transformed itself into a dragon’s head; see Audrey Yoshiko Seo and
Stephen Addiss, The Sound of One Hand: Paintings and Calligraphy
by Zen Master Hakuin, Boston, Shambhala Publications, 2010,
pl.3.14-3.15 and pp.128-135.

92 | BONHAMS For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.