Lot 139: Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768) Fine Japanese Art

1750s Kakejiku, a horizontal scroll,ink on paper, depicting a chabishaku (bamboo water ladle for use in the tea ceremony), with a poem (see below) above and below the handle, with seals Hakuin, Ekaku, Kokanbutsu; with fitted wooden tomobako inscribed outside Hakuin Osho bokuseki hishaku zu... (Picture of a ladle by Priest Hakuin) and inscribed inside with an authentication by Yodogawa Yasukiyo; together with a hand-written letter. 35.9cm x 56.8cm (14 1/8in x 22 5/8in). (3).

35.9cm x 56.8cm

During the tea ceremony, the chabishaku is used for both simmering and cold water. The poem reads: 寒熱の地獄にかよう茶びしゃくもこころなければ苦しみもなし Kannetsu no / jigoku ni kayou / chabishaku mo / kokoro nakereba / kurushimi mo nashi Freezing and scalding / on its way to hell and back / like us a ladle / can be free of suffering / thanks to having no heart-mind.