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Lecture 2005-11-21
"The Appreciation of Zen Calligraphy"
Ms. Sarah Moate
The November Meeting was
a memorable occasion, with upwards of 80 people attending; visitors
included members of our speaker's study group, the British Minister
Mr. Martin Hatfull, and friends of Mrs. Nilima Seth. As e-mail
subscribers had already been informed, our advertised speaker, Prof.
Tancho Terayama, was unfortunately indisposed (much to his chagrin),
and his place was taken by Miss Sarah Moate, lecturer in Fine Arts at
Nihon University, who had originally merely planned to introduce Prof.
Terayama and then interpret for him. For the meeting she had arranged
the use of the headquarters of the Tokyo University Youth Buddhist Association,
which provided a congenial atmosphere and was very appropriate for showing
the precious calligraphies from Prof. Terayama's collection; of these,
works by four calligraphers were shown, those of Fugai Ekun (1568-1654),
Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769), Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-1888), and Daisetz T.
Suzuki (1870-1966). To create the right atmosphere for her talk, Miss
Moate had incense burning in historic incense holders from Prof. Terayama's
collection, which had been on show at the Victoria and Albert Museum,
London, and the Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford, and began her
presentation with a short period of quiet which ended when she struck
a little temple bell.
There were also seven students from Nihon University School of
Medicine, including five musicians from the Ensemble Club and
two from Nihon University School of Dentistry who helped Mrs. Holly
White in preparing the reception.
The Appreciation of Zen Calligraphy
The four calligraphies kindly
loaned by Prof. Tanchu Terayama from his private collection for this
occasion were:
- Daisetz T. Suzuki (1870-1966). Right Mind. 1960.
- Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-1888). Fencing Mask and Bamboo Sword. c.1886.
- Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769). Settled. 1765.
- Fugai Ekun (1568-1654). Hotei Pointing to the Moon. 1650.
Three of these calligraphies
had previously been shown at the exhibition "Traces of No-Mind;
Japanese Zen Calligraphy" at the Victoria & Albert in 2001
and all had been shown at an exhibition entitled "The Way of the
Zen Brush: Japanese Zen Calligraphy" at Christ Church Picture
Gallery, Oxford in 2004. A hand-out was also provided to augment
the lecture.
Before the lecture began
Miss Moate invited the audience to close their eyes and allow their
minds to quieten or to reflect quietly on the calligraphies hung at
the front of the lecture room. A bell was rung at the beginning and
end of this reflective period as in a Zen dojo.
Zen arrived in Japan in the
13th century via India and China and during the Muromachi period became
the predominant religious and cultural force, emphasizing inner strength,
a requisite in a society based on samurai ideals of discipline, loyalty
and service. During the Momoyama period, after a period of civil
war and re-unification this predominance lessened. During the
Edo period under Tokugawa rule, Neo-Confuscianism became the dominant
ethical code, religious beliefs lessened and later in 1853 Japan once
more opened to the West. By the time Fugai Ekun was a young man of 32
there was a lack of official patronage which freed Zen art. Some Zen
artists established connections with the leaders of society through
means such as the tea ceremony, the Zen scroll in the tokunoma is seen
as an important utensil in bringing the host and guests together in
their devotions. Others rejected the world of the elite and painted
for their own Zen vision, giving the works to pupils. Most Edo-period masters however used calligraphy and painting as a way of popularizing Zen. Hakuin is
an excellent example of this. The essential function of Zen calligraphy
and painting is to encourage the mind towards enlightenment.
Daisetz T. Suzuki in his
book Zen and Japanese Culture (1959), states that "When satori
artistically expresses itself, it produces works vibrating with spiritual
rhythm, exhibiting the mysterious or giving a glimpse into the Unfathomable".
Daisetz Suzuki, who died at the age of 95, is renowned as the foremost
exponent of Zen Buddhism in the West. A life-long friend of Nishida
Kitaro (1870-1945), the modern Japanese philosopher, he was also a life-member
of the Asiatic Society until his death in 1966, almost half a century
after his lecture given to the Society in 1920. His calligraphy reads
"Jiki-shin" (Right Mind) and was written at around age 90.
Jiki-shin means a heart/mind as it really is, in its natural, honest
state. It is a state of singularity, unfettered by the affects of duality.
Suzuki emphasized the importance of "isness" in Zen,
commenting that is an essential part of satori within our daily lives.
The first Chinese character is largest in scale and written in cursive script, the second
charater and signature are written in semi-cursive script which is easier
to read. Suzuki had studied Zen at Enkakuji temple in Kamakura under
Shaku Soen Roshi, who gave him the inka name "Dai- setsu"
(meaning great simplicity or humbleness). Indeed this calligraphy which
was probably written for a follower is not technically sophisticated
but has great presence.
In "Zen and Japanese
Culture" Suzuki devotes a section to Yamaoka Tesshu, a swordsman
and retainer of the Tokugawa family. Tesshu played an active role in
the transfer of power in the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and received
the 4th Order of the Emperor at age 47. Suzuki comments on Tesshu's
way of having applying Zen to his teaching of swordsmanship, encouraging
his students to discover by personal experience the meaning of "the
sword- of- no- sword". This calligraphy was written at age
50, towards the end of his life. The script reads "The mystique
of fencing is like the willows in the wind/ signed by Tetsutaro Yamaoka
honoured with the 4th Order". Tesshu devoted his life to the cultivation
of ki-ai and extended it through the brush into the ink and paper as
one extends ki-ai in the martial arts. Ki (Chinese Chi), is the energy
of the universe, always present but dormant if not developed.
Although the hand of the artist can be seen in any work of art, it is
thought that sho (brush calligraphy) is
the artist.
Daisetz Suzuki describes
Hakuin Ekaku as one of the great modern Zen masters of Japan and includes
several reproductions of his calligraphy in "Zen and Japanese Calligraphy".
It is said that Hakuin was moved to take Buddhist orders by the terror
he felt as a child on hearing a sermon on hell. Hakuin made Shoin-ji
temple in Hara (modern Shizuoka prefecture), the centre for the revitalization
of the Rinzai Zen tradition. He invented new koan to help others to
enlightenment as well as using calligraphy and painting as visual sermons
to reach out to not only monks but lay people. The script reads "SETTLED,
Fix yourself in the best place; know exactly where to stop".
Hakuin wrote this work at age 80 and the large character "Jo"
(settled), written in regular script is characteristic of his powerful,
vigorous style. The script progressively loosens until the last column
which is cursive script. Although this calligraphy was written about
240 years ago Hakuin's ki-ai which penetrated the paper and ink on
writing, is still apparent. It is present in the ink as bokki.
Bokki literally means the vitality of the ink and refers to how far
the ink particles are suffused with life.
The oldest calligraphy displayed
that evening was written 355 years ago by Fukai Ekun. He was a Soto
Zen monk who spent many years wandering through the rural areas of Odawara
and Atami, often living in caves. The calligraphy by Fugai was written
at age 82 and depicts the legendary Chinese monk Hotei pointing to the
moon. The script reads: "His life is not poor, but neither is it
rich, pointing to the moon, gazing at the moon. This old man really
enjoys himself/ Written by Fugai". This painting is typical of
Fugai's style where the flowing lines of the figure and cursive
script are executed as one. It can be said to embody mugen-kan. In the
realm of Zen mu (which is a difficult term to translate) can be said
to mean "no-thing", "not", "non-existence",
detachment from the usual thought-patterns, going beyond oneself or
the limitations of the ego. Mugen-kan is to perceive the world from
this unified state of mind. In the appreciation of Zen calligraphy such
qualities are perceived in the overall impact
of the calligraphy or paradoxically, discovered in the signature of
the calligrapher. Although the reproduction of Daisetz's calligraphy
in English "O Wonderful", (a quotation from Shakespeare's
"As You Like It", Act 3, scene 2), doesn't have the same resonance
as Fugai's calligraphy it does reveal a quality of absolute freedom,
especially in the signature.
The customary question and
answer session followed: to "Do you believe that a calligrapher's
association with either the Soto school or the Rinzai school of Zen
affects their work?" Miss Moate answered that that was a very deep
question but it was difficult to make comparisons because there
not very much Soto calligraphy extant. She felt that the different
styles of meditation -- Soto facing the wall and Rinzai facing into
the room may cause different effects of the calligraphy. The questioner
herself felt that Soto calligraphy was in some way more expressive.
Miss Moate was then asked
how she saw her own calligraphy developing and stated that she believed
very much in the motto of not keeping it to oneself but sharing it.
She said that before coming to Japan in 1999 she had lived in a meditation
centre in England for 10 years and she had learned that it is very important
to express Zen in the way you lead your life, and to deepen your practice,
not only in drawing.
Another questioner asked
what Daisetz T. Suzuki's favoured expression "Man's extremity is
God's opportunity" meant. Miss Moate answered that Suzuki
used this a lot when comparing Christianity and Zen. Prof. Terayama,
she said, is very interested in the line and whether it is alive or
dead. He feels that it is not so much the form of the Kanji as
the line that is important. Therefore English is a language just
as suited to calligraphy as Japanese is. To a question as to whether
she thought that Daisetz T. Suzuki's chosen name was paradoxical, Miss
Moate replied that she believed that it meant "great humility"
and that the origin of that name had come early on in his career, when
a student. It is often at this point that it is possible to see
a seed of what may be. Having said that, she said that Suzuki
was very animated and intense in his lectures in the USA -- he
often thumped the lectern or came out from behind it and shouted.
His legacy, however, is extremely profound.
The vote of thanks was given
by Dr. Gaynor Sekimori. She felt that Miss Moate's lecture had
been a wonderful introduction to an appreciation of Zen calligraphy.
She was very appreciative of the few moments of silence marked off by
the sounding of the bell and compared it to her own meditation bare-legged
in freezing cold rooms when she had practiced Zen herself. It
had been a great privilege this evening to see four such masterpieces.
The strength of Hakuin's calligraphy in particular had really struck
her. She recalled visiting the temple of Omori Sogen Roshi many
years ago and the bucket of ink, the huge brush and large sheet of paper
he had used. Four of his disciple used the brush to make one strong
but fluid stroke. They had put their whole "kiai" into the
act of calligraphy. Dr. Sekimori concluded by thanking Miss Moate
for letting the audience share the way of appreciating calligraphy that
she had shown it.
After the meeting Miss Moate
treated us to a typical British "cheese and wine party", complete
with luscious fruit. And to cap it all she laid on musical entertainment
provided by a quintet of talented amateurs from the Ensemble Club of
Nihon University Medical School, who played such favourites as Pachelbel's
Canon in D and the "Air on the G string" from Bach's Suite
No. 3. She thus set a standard of meetings which (as I told her)
we should find it hard to match, and we are very grateful to her indeed
for all the effort she went to. This will be remembered as an
extraordinarily well-rounded meeting that touched those present on many
different levels.
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