Lot 163: HAKUIN EKAKU (1685-1768) Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1760 Kakejiku

HAKUIN EKAKU (1685-1768) Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1760 Kakejiku (vertical hanging scroll), ink on paper in silk mounts, an inka certificate issued by Hakuin, recognizing the recipient’s successful attainment of Zen enlightenment, depicting a Zen priest’s hossu (ritual whisk) wrapped around a staff, the top of the staff in the form of a dragon’s head, the carrying cord for the staff wrapped around the lower jaw, on either side a written dedication to a Mr Konagatani of Suruga Province; with a wooden storage box. Overall 203.2cm x 45cm (80in x 17¾in), image 133.5cm x 28.4cm (52½in x 11 1/8in). (2).

Hakuin frequently gave Ryujo hossu (Dragon Staff and Whisk) scrolls to his lay followers, a practice based on Case Number 60 in the seminal Zen text Hekiganroku, where Zen master Unmon states that his staff has transformed itself into a dragon and swallowed the universe. Hakuin’s early depictions of staffs are quite literal but we know from dated examples that by the late 1750s the top of the staff had transformed itself into a dragon’s head; see Audrey Yoshiko Seo and Stephen Addiss, The Sound of One Hand: Paintings and Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin, Boston, Shambhala Publications, 2010, pl.3.14-3.15 and pp.128-135.