"Commemorating 170 years since his death: Sengai - Enjoying Zen Paintings" Exhibition
This event has ended.
At Idemitsu Museum of Arts
Media: Painting
Sengai was an Edo period Buddhist priest of the oldest Zen temple in Japan, admired by the people of Hakata (present-day Fukuoka). Full of humor and freedom of spirit, his paintings come across as “cute and interesting” to present-day people and attract them with their wonderful charm. This exhibition will show Sengai’s Zen paintings, unraveling their meaning and allowing viewers to enjoy his zen aesthetic, while at the same time exploring his largely unknown identity as a man of refined taste. It will be the most comprehensive Sengai exhibition presented from the Idemitsu collection, the best in Japan both in quality and quantity.
[Image: "Hotei (Budai) Pointing at the Moon" Sengai (1750-1837). Idemitsu Museum of Arts.]
Schedule
From 2007-09-01 To 2007-10-28
Artist(s)
Community around this event
Reviews
笑）
くすくす、きゃはは、ほほほ、うふふ
仙厓さんの画から、笑い声が聞こえる。
正月に店の前を踊る童、
箒片手に拾得、
花見に集う町の人、
シニカル極まりない入寂、
「よろこへ、よろこへ」 恵比寿様、
月を指差す布袋さん、
無垢な気持ちがころころ、あちらそちら。
一日、一日、その中に見る景色。
Zen direct to you
By Michael Dunn
Special to The Japan Times
In his old age Sengai became more and more popular and was frequently deluged by visitors bringing sheets of paper for him to inscribe. He expressed his amused response in a poem:
To my dismay I wonder if
my small hut is just a toilet
since everyone who comes here
seems to bring me more paper!
