Page 139 - Bonhams May 16, 2019 London Japanese Art

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HAKUIN EKAKU (1686-1769) As Hakuin scholar Yoshizawa Katsuhiro explains in the catalogue cited
Edo period (1615-1868), mid-18th century above, the goddess Otafuku (also known as Okame and Ofuku) is,
Kakejiku (vertical hanging scroll), ink on paper in silk mounts, the along with the jovial pot-bellied priest Hotei, one of the key symbols
unusual composition depicting the popular deities Hotei and Otafuku, of Hakuin’s path to Zen enlightenment: sometimes beautiful, often
with several word balloons and inscriptions (see below); sealed Ryutoku ugly, she embodies the Buddhist principle of non-duality. In this rare
senten, Hakuin, and Ekaku no in; with an inscribed wood storage box and striking image, Hotei holds a giant kiseru (tobacco pipe) in his
and cardboard outer storage box. right hand and exhales not only a puff of smoke but also a 16-year-old
Overall: 126 x 60cm (49 5/8 x 23 5/8in); figure of Otafuku herself, alongside a Chinese inscription (in smaller
image: 36 x 57cm (14 1/8 x 22 1/2in). (3). characters to her left) noting that when the founder of the Pure Land
sect chanted the Buddha’s name his words turned into an actual
£60,000 - 80,000 Amida Buddha. As Hakuin asks, “If bringing Amida to life was a
JPY8,700,000 - 12,000,000 meritorious act, what merit might there be in bringing Otafuku to life?”
US$78,000 - 100,000 Otafuku’s kimono is patterned with a version of the umebachi crest,
the emblem of Kitano Tenjin, a Shinto deity revered by Hakuin since his
youth; Hakuin was himself a heavy smoker, making Hotei’s large pipe
Published another of his trade marks.
Yoshizawa Katsuhiro, Hakuin Zenga bokuseki (1050 Paintings and
Callligraphies by the Zen Master Hakuin), Zengahen (Painting volume),
Tokyo, Nigensha, 2009, no.364.

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. FINE JAPANESE ART | 137