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75. Nantembô (1839-1925) & Ryûzan
Zen
Sakazuki, sake cup - drunken (Nanten)bô
Signed: Nanjûnanaô Nantembô
Seals: Ryûzan
Technique: Fine crackled Kyôyaki with a tetsu-e iron oxide underglaze decoration Ø 6 x 4,4
Date: 1915
Box: signed cardboard
Condition: fine

Calligraphy cup inside: [signed:] 七十七翁南天棒
Nanjûnanaô Nantembô 77 years old Nantembô

outside: 呑尽南天棒不尽南天棒
Nomi tsukusu mo Nantembô, nomi tsukuza mo Nantembô
When drunk – all is Nantembô; no drinking and all is Nantembô, too.


Nantembô, Tôjû Zenchû, started painting when he was already more than 65 years old. Despite this relatively advanced age he was one of the most productive and important Zenga artists in the Meiji and Taishô era.

Keisuke (Nantembô) was born in the Shioda samurai family in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture in North-West Kyûshû. At the age of 7 he resolved to become a monk and at the age of 11 he began his training in the Yûkô-ji temple in Hirado where he received the name Nakahara Tôjû. Six years later he travelled to Kyôto to enter the Yamashiro Hachiman Daruma-dô and got trained at Empukuji temple. Most of his mature life he spent travelling and teaching. After meeting Yamaoka Tesshû (1836-1888) in 1885 they established a Zen training center at the Dorin-ji temple. Both men greatly influenced each other and Nantembô learned much of his style from Tesshû.
He became abbot of Zuigan-ji, Matsushima in 1891 and in 1902 abbot of Bairin-ji and Kaisei-ji. In 1908 Nantembô became 586th generation kanchô (Chief abbot) of the Myôshin-ji, but at the Kaisei-ji he spent the rest of his life.

In the West Nantembô is without any doubt the best-known 20th century Zen painter. He derived his name Nantembô from his (staff) cut from a 200-year-old Nanten tree. He used it to instruct his students and it illustrates his kôan: "If you speak, Nantembô; if you don't speak, Nantembô" (or, "To the enlightened it is a nanten staff, to the unenlightened it is (only) Nanten." Berry).

Reference:
Welch 1995
Seo p.17-34
Addiss p.186-203
Berry 2001 p. 176

Price: EUR 800 / USD 872