Daruma
Artist
Goyo Gukei
(Japanese, 1859–1944)
Date20th century
Mediumink on silk
Dimensions208.3 x 54.6 cm (82 x 21 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineAlexander H. Bullock Fund
Object number2003.135
Label Text2004-01-30: BODHIDHARMA (Japanese: DARUMA)
Artist and calligrapher: Goyo Gukei (Echu; 1859-1944)
Ink on silk
Alexander H. Bullock Fund, 2003.135
Bodhidharma (Daruma), the beloved Grand Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, is also viewed as a spiritual force in motion. While Daruma is believed to have brought his teachings from India to China, they also spread to Japan (and now to Europe and the Americas). Furthermore Daruma's teachings continue to be transmitted spiritually from master to disciples, generation after generation.
The inscription reads:
How busy Daruma was when he came from West to East,
He forgot about all petty concerns;
In China, they missed the mark but his teaching
Now casts a long shadow here in Japan.
Painted and inscribed by Goyo, formerly of Mt. Shobo (i.e., Myoshin-ji)
Gukei became the abbot of Shofuku-ji, Kobe, in 1907. In 1924 he was selected as the chief abbot of Shobo-zan Myoshin-ji and later also the administrative superintendent abbot (kancho) of the Myoshinji branch of the Rinzai Zen sect. This painting, created after Gukei's retirement, exemplifies the monk's characteristically confident and expressive brushwork. It also shows his ability to render Daruma as a solid, dynamic and charming presence, projecting true Zen energy and humor.On View
Not on view
