Page 238 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

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Yamamoto Yoshinobu
(active late eighteenth century)
Portrait of Jiun Onkô
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
3
184.8X53.7 (72 /4X2lV8)
Kurokawa Ancient Writings Research
Organization, Hyógo

• Jiun Onkô (1718-1804), also known
as Jiun Sonja, was an eminent monk
who had studied Confucianism and a
variety of forms of Buddhism before 237
founding his own school of Buddhism,
which was a mixture of Zen, Shingon,
and an earlier Japanese form called
Ritsu. This realistic yet moving portrait
of Jiun is by Yamamoto Yoshinobu,
probably one of Jiun's disciples. There
are more than fifty extant portraits
of Jiun in various poses, some nearly
identical to this one, in which Jiun
is meditating outdoors near his moun-
tain retreat. He is shown at an ad-
vanced age, powerful and serene in
the classic position for seated medita-
tion. Portraits of a master were often
given to students and lay believers as
evidence of a bond between master
and follower.
Jiun developed a style of calligraphy
that is immediately recognizable for
its bold expressionistic manner (see
cats. 128,129). Following a practice
with a long history in Zen circles, he
often inscribed his own portraits. The
inscription here says that Jiun was
asked to provide this colophon by the
painter. In a self-deprecatory preface
he notes that though he had achieved
a certain renown and had passed
the age of eighty his accomplishments
did not compare with those of Bud-
dha's disciples or the Chinese Zen
master Chao-chou (d. 897). He then
closes with a poem, "Beneath my eyes,
the turbulent waves of the four seas.
Above my head, the far reaches of
the deep blue skies. Months and sea-
sons have come and gone without
cease, before this old and unenlight-
ened monk." RTS

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