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Artist Name

Suiō Genro

Title

“Shōki Seated in Meditation, with Inscription”

Dimensions

painting：85.8×27.2㎝
full length：143.5×35.9㎝

Medium

ink on paper

Description

Shōki is depicted seated in the full lotus position, wearing the robes of a Chinese official and bearing a long flowing beard. This work is a Shōki in Meditation painting by Suiō Genro. Shōki (Chinese: Zhong Kui) is the legendary demon-queller of China, said to have been modeled on an actual figure from the Tang dynasty.

The eyebrows, beard, and hair are rendered with vigorous strokes of pale ink, while the facial features and folds of the robe are expressed succinctly in decisive, single brush lines.

Suiō Genro (1717-1790) was a monk of the Myōshinji school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism in the mid-Edo period. He was a disciple of Hakuin Keizuru and succeeded him as abbot of Shoinji Temple in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture. At first he called himself Keimoku, and later changed his name to Suiō. He also called himself Ukishima. His posthumous name was Zen Master Yusei Myoken.
After the age of 30, he had an audience with Zen master Hakuin and studied under him. His Zen style is described as “fine Tōrei and great Suiō.” Suiō’s calligraphy and paintings are characterized by his bold brushwork and boldness, while Tōrei’s are characterized by his respectful attitude toward his teacher Hakuin.
Suiō is said to have been an eccentric person who avoided socializing, drank, painted, and played go, and was friends with Ike Taiga.

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