Page 168 - Bonhams November 4 2021 Japanese art London

258
HAKUIN EKAKU (1685-1768)
Edo period (1615–1868), mid 18th century
Parents, kakejiku (hanging scroll), ink on paper in silk mounts, depicting
attributes of two of the Shichifukujin (Seven Gods of Good Fortune),
Daikoku’s cap and Hotei’s staff, below a large single character Oya
and an inscription Koko o suru hodo shison mo hansho oya wa ukiyo
no fukuden ja (Children too will prosper to the extent that they acted in
a filial manner, so parents should be seen as a source of happiness in
this world), with three seals, the first (at top right) Kokan’i the second
(at the end of the inscription) a partially obliterated pot seal Hakuin,
the third Ekaku no ki; the jikusaki (scroll ends) lacquered wood; with a
double wood storage box. Overall: 172.6cm x 45.1cm
(67 15/16in x 17¾in); image: 94cm x 29cm (37in x 11 7/16in). (3).

£10,000 - 15,000
JPY1,500,000 - 2,300,000
US$14,000 - 20,000

A scroll with the same inscription was sold in these Rooms,
9 November 2017, lot 98.
259
SENGAI GIBON (1750-1837)
Edo period (1615-1868), early 19th century
Carved Bullfinch and Torii Arch, kakejiku (hanging scroll), ink on paper
in silk mounts, with an inscription Yo no uso to uso to no kae ni kaete
ataehen ware wa makoto o (Exchanging and exchanging again all the
world’s mistakes, at last we get to the truth); with a wood tomobako
storage box inscribed outside Sengai Zenshi bokuseki uso tori (Ink
painting of the uso bird by Zen Master Sengai) and signed and sealed
inside by the economist and collector Awakawa Yasuichi (1902-1977).
Overall: 126.2cm x 19.1cm (49 13/16in x 7½in);
image: 55cm x 13.7cm (21 5/8in x 5 3/8in). (2).
£1,500 - 2,000
JPY230,000 - 300,000
US$2,000 - 2,700

These motifs refer to the Usogae ceremony held on the seventh day of
the first month at the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, when crowds would
exchange carved wood figures of uso (bullfinches) several times while
shouting ‘Kaemasho, kaemasho’ (let’s swap them, let’s swap them),
metaphorically liberating themselves from the uso, also meaning ‘lies’
or ‘bad decisions’, of the previous year. For another example and an
account of Usogae, see Yatsunami Hirokazu, Sengai no fuzokuga o
megutte (On Genre Painting of Sengai), Idemitsu Bijutsukan kenkyu
kiyo, 21 (January 2016), pp.76-77, accessible at http://idemitsu-
museum.or.jp/research/pdf/03.idemitsu-No21_2016.pdf

260 Y Ф
SENGAI GIBON (1750-1837)
Edo period (1615-1868), early 19th century
Monju Bosatsu (the bodhisattva Monju) riding a lion, kakejiku
(hanging scroll), ink on silk in silk mounts, with a 16-character Chinese
inscription above: How can one encompass the vastness of life?
Do not fall into evil ways but remember that excessive obedience to
the rules ends in breaking the rules, too much knowledge ends in
ignorance, signed and sealed Sengai at right; the jikusaki (scroll ends)
of ivory, with a wood tomobako storage box inscribed outside Sengai
Zenshi bokuseki Monju Daishi no zo daichi muchi (Ink painting of Monju
by Zen Master Sengai, ‘Too much knowledge ends in ignorance’) and
signed and sealed inside by the economist and collector Awakawa
Yasuichi (1902-1977). Overall: 168.5cm x 47.7cm (66 5/16in x 18¾in);
image: 88.5cm x 31cm (34 13/16in x 12 3/16in). (2).

£2,000 - 3,000
JPY300,000 - 450,000
US$2,700 - 4,100
Provenance:
Purchased from S. Yabumoto, Tokyo, 1975.
258

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