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Virginia Review of Asian Studies: 20 (2018) 122-133 ISSN: 2169-6306 Neave: Nun Shun’oku-Sōei PORTRAIT OF THE 16 th CENTURY ZEN BUDDHIST NUN SHUN’OKU-SOEI DAIJI-IN TEMPLE KYOTO: A TALE OF COLLABORATION AND DISCOVERY DORINDA NEAVE 1 CAPILANO UNIVERSITY Abstract Tucked away in the same compound as Kyoto’s well known Zen Buddhist temple Daitoku-ji is the small sub temple called Daiji-in which houses an intriguing painting of the 16 th century Zen Buddhist nun Shun’oku-Sōei by the artist Tosa Mitsumochi (ca.1496-1559). Until recently, very little was known about this nun and she remained a mystery even to Daiji-in’s current head priest Toda Jitsuzan. Shun’oku- Sōei’s portrait features a lengthy, enigmatic Chinese inscription, which was recently translated into English by a group of Japanese scholars (Sotetsu Abe, Ken Mikata, Toki Okada and Mineko Matano) with whom I collaborated to further understand this painting. The detailed translation of the text sheds valuable light on this extraordinary nun and her devotion to Zen Buddhism. This paper discusses the painting, the process of deciphering the inscription and the contents of that inscription within the context of 16 th century Japanese society and Zen Buddhism. 1 Dorinda Neave is an art historian, art curator and author who taught Asian Art History and Visual Culture at Capilano University, from 1989 - 2016. Dorinda holds an MA in Art History from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She is currently writing a book on the Japanese Zen Buddhist monk-artist Sesshū (1420-1506) with fellow researcher Mineko Matano. 122

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Page 1: Zen Buddhism · Web viewAside from meditation, Zen practice includes manual labour and study of koan (questions or exchanges) with a Zen master as methods of attaining clarity necessary

Virginia Review of Asian Studies: 20 (2018) 122-133ISSN: 2169-6306Neave: Nun Shun’oku-Sōei

PORTRAIT OF THE 16th CENTURY ZEN BUDDHIST NUN SHUN’OKU-SOEI DAIJI-IN TEMPLE KYOTO: A TALE OF COLLABORATION AND DISCOVERY

DORINDA NEAVE 1

CAPILANO UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Tucked away in the same compound as Kyoto’s well known Zen Buddhist temple Daitoku-ji is the small sub temple called Daiji-in which houses an intriguing painting of the 16th century Zen Buddhist nun Shun’oku-Sōei by the artist Tosa Mitsumochi (ca.1496-1559). Until recently, very little was known about this nun and she remained a mystery even to Daiji-in’s current head priest Toda Jitsuzan. Shun’oku-Sōei’s portrait features a lengthy, enigmatic Chinese inscription, which was recently translated into English by a group of Japanese scholars (Sotetsu Abe, Ken Mikata, Toki Okada and Mineko Matano) with whom I collaborated to further understand this painting. The detailed translation of the text sheds valuable light on this extraordinary nun and her devotion to Zen Buddhism. This paper discusses the painting, the process of deciphering the inscription and the contents of that inscription within the context of 16th century Japanese society and Zen Buddhism.

Introduction

Tucked away in the same compound as Kyoto’s well known Zen Buddhist temple Daitoku-ji is the small sub temple called Daiji-in, which houses an intriguing painting of the 16th century Zen Buddhist nun Shun’oku-Sōei by the artist Tosa Mitsumochi (ca.1496-1559) Fig.1. Until recently, very little was known about this nun and she remained a mystery even to Daiji-in’s current head priest Toda Jitsuzan.

1 Dorinda Neave is an art historian, art curator and author who taught Asian Art History and Visual Culture at Capilano University, from 1989 - 2016. Dorinda holds an MA in Art History from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She is currently writing a book on the Japanese Zen Buddhist monk-artist Sesshū (1420-1506) with fellow researcher Mineko Matano.

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Fig. 1 Portrait of the Nun Shun’oku-Sōei by Tosa Mitsumochi Hanging scroll, ink and color on silkHeight 91.2 cm, width 35.2 cm

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Inscription dated 1546 Daiji-in, Kyoto

I first came across this painting while working on a survey text on Asian Art. The painted hanging scroll was part of an exhibition titled Women and Buddhism at Nara National Museum in 2003, and I included the well-preserved image in the textbook’s section on Zen Buddhist convents in 16th century Japan.2 The English section of the catalogue accompanying the show provided basic details about the work such as the title of the painting (Portrait of the Nun Shun’oku-Sōei), format (hanging scroll), medium (colors on silk), measurements (height 91.2, width 35.2 cm), period/date (Muromachi period, 16th century) and location (Daiji-in Temple, Kyoto Prefecture), but no discussion of the painting.3 The catalogue’s Japanese entry included a few important details such as Shun’oku-Sōei was the daughter of Shinomiya Tengai, a retainer of feudal lord Hosokawa, and she became head nun of Sōun-an.4 However, an exhaustive examination of resources relating to this painting revealed a gap in academic research. Shun’oku-Sōei, an accomplished and celebrated nun during the Muromachi period, as her portrait would reveal, had temporarily receded into the shadows. Shun’oku-Sōei’s portrait was accompanied by a lengthy Chinese inscription (as yet un-translated), which I was unable to read so I turned to Japanese scholars (Sotetsu Abe, Ken Mikata, Toki Okada and Mineko Matano) for help in translating the text. A complete translation was not requiredfor a survey text but it deserves a closer look as it sheds valuable light on this extraordinary nun and her devotion to Zen Buddhism. This paper discusses the painting, the process of deciphering the inscription and the contents of that text within the context of 16th century Japanese society and Zen Buddhism.

Zen Buddhism

Known as Chan Buddhism in China and Seon in Korea, Zen Buddhism (Zen means “meditation”) allegedly originated in India with a monk called Bodhidharma (Jap. Daruma).5 He taught that intense meditation was the pathway to enlightenment. By the late twelfth century his teachings, transmitted to China in the sixth century, had taken root in Japan. Two Japanese Buddhist masters who studied in China, Myōan Eisai (1141-1215) and Dōgen Zenji (1200-1253), are credited with establishing Zen in Japan.

Zen promotes the idea of attaining enlightenment in one’s present lifetime. In Zen, enlightenment is attained from within, via meditation, self-reliance and restraint, not through faith in an external deity. Although Chan/Zen monks gradually incorporated

2 Dorinda Neave, Lara Blanchard and Marika Sardar, Asian Art (New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2014), 339.3 Nara National Museum: exhibition catalogue, Women and Buddhism (Nara: Nara National Museum, 2003), xv.4 The Hosokawa clan were influential retainers of the Ashikaga Shogunate and dominated shogunal politics during the Muromachi era (1338-1573).5 Bernard Faure, “From Bodhidharma to Daruma: The Hidden Life of a Zen Patriarch,” Japan Review 23 (2011): 45.

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various rituals and ceremonies belonging to other schools of Buddhism into their belief system, and produced an important body of sacred texts, meditation (zazen), to focus the mind, is of primary importance in Zen practice, not worship of devotional icons, study of religious texts, or observance of complicated rituals that may obscure the truth. However, despite this seeming preference for the aniconic, there is a long-standing tradition of Chan/Zen Buddhist portraiture that revolves around ritual and veneration.6 Aside from meditation, Zen practice includes manual labour and study of koan (questions or exchanges) with a Zen master as methods of attaining clarity necessary for enlightenment. These koan, for example, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” or “Does a dog have Buddha nature?” cannot be logically answered. Instead the disciple must use intuition, unclouded by rational thought, to transcend the fixed notions of reality that are an impediment to true insight.

Zen’s emphasis on rigorous self-discipline appealed to the military elite and with generous patronage from shoguns such as Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1409), an accomplished poet and collector of Chinese paintings, and Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1430-1490), Zen Buddhism flourished throughout Japan. Members of the nobility, including women, were also drawn to Zen, attracted in part by the sophisticated Chinese culture that accompanied the new religion.7 Numerous Chinese-style Zen monasteries were founded, such as Kennin-ji (1202) in Kyoto and Kencho-ji (1253) in Kamakura, and these monastic institutions became important centers of scholarship and culture. Zen monks with extensive ties to China also became advisers to shoguns on cultural, economic, and political matters, especially during the Muromachi (Ashikaga) period (1392-1573) when Zen Buddhism’s pervasive influence reached all levels of society.

Portrait of the 16th century Zen Buddhist nun Shun’oku-Sōei, Daiji-in temple, Kyoto

A surprising number of portraits of religious women are still housed in Japanese convents and temples. These portraits, such as the sixteenth century painting of nun Shun’oku-Sōei belonging to Daiji-in temple, Kyoto, were commemorative images used in memorial rites honouring the deceased. Painted by Tosa Mitsumochi (ca.1496-1559), shortly before or after she died, Shun’oku-Sōei’s portrait depicts a life-like image of an elderly, shaven-headed nun seated in a position of meditation (Zenjō-in) on a simple bamboo chair set on a diagonal axis. Her head is turned slightly to the left revealing prominent cheekbones and sagging jowls. She wears a plain, dark colored surplice (kesa) fastened with a ring. The nun’s sombre clothes and humble seat emphasize her commitment to cultivate purity in body and mind through rigorous monastic practices. Although old, she steadfastly meditates with compressed lips, impervious to physical discomfort. Her shoes are neatly placed on a stool in front of the chair. Above her head is

6 Griffith Foulk and Robert Sharf, “On the Ritual Use of Ch’an Portraiture in Medieval China,” in Chan Buddhism in Ritual Context, ed. Bernard Faure (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003), 74-1507 Barbara Ruch and Patricia Fister et al., A Hidden Heritage: Treasures of the Japanese Imperial Convents (Tokyo: The University Art Museum, 2009), 26.

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a lengthy inscription written in 1546 by Shunrin-Soshuku, the 98th abbot of the Zen Buddhist temple Daitoku-ji. From the inscription we learn that Shun’oku-Sōei studied Zen Buddhism at Daitoku-ji and later became chief nun of Sōun-an temple. Inscriptions, written by a priest from an affiliated monastery or high-ranking person were usually added to portraits after the subject’s death.

Deciphering this complicated inscription in antiquated Chinese was a challenging task that involved the skills of several scholars, including the Zen Buddhist monk Sotetsu Abe. At first I asked Kyoto-based researcher Mineko Matano for assistance. The enigmatic classical Chinese characters proved too complicated for both her and Toda Jitsuzan, the head priest at Daiji-in temple, to decode so Matano enlisted the help of Kyoto University professor Ken Mikata. He also found the inscriptions difficult to decipher, not only because of the archaic writing but also because of the esoteric Zen Buddhist terms contained within the text. Mikata forwarded the text to Sotetsu Abe, a retired president of Hanazono Daigaku, a Zen Buddhist University in Kyoto, for his scholarly input. Abe was able to decipher the text and independent scholar Ms. Toki Okada researched the difficult Zen Buddhist terms. Finally, Mikata, Okada and Matano gathered together to discuss the results of their collaborative efforts and Matano translated the text into English. She gave Toda Jitsuzan, the head priest of Daiji-in temple, the decoded text in Japanese and English, much to his delight, because the portrait had always been a fascinating mystery for him.

Inscription, lower right:

The brief inscription at the bottom of the painting on the right hand side provides the following statement:

Tosa Mitsuoki, the Sixteenth Painter of the Tosa School, confirms that this hanging scroll is truly painted by Tosa Mitsumochi, the Twelfth Painter of the Tosa School.

The official ranks accompanying these painters’ names indicate that Tosa Mitsuoki (1617-1691) is a more highly ranked artist.

Commemorative inscription above the image of nun Shun’oku-Sōei:

Inscription Conferring the Nun Shun’oku-Sōei: The Noble Image of Shun’oku-Sōei, the Head Nun of Sōun-an. Her absolute and unswerving devotion to practice has been tremendously bright; Shun’oku-Sōei cherishes her true mind, which is full of righteousness. Since the time when she took holy orders in Buddhism, and assumed the mantle from Jitsuden-Soshin, fifty-sixth abbot of Daitoku-ji, Shun’oku-Sōei has earnestly sought Zen Buddhism. Since her religious name, Shun’oku, was conferred by Ekkei-Sogo, seventy-ninth abbot of Daitoku-ji, Shun’oku-Sōei has been intensely studying the Zen doctrines more and more. In the process of her spiritual practice of asceticism, when

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receiving “tokuzan bo” or a hard blow, she has exhausted her thinking by shutting out all sense of desire and conscious thinking; when hearing “katsu” or a thunderous cry, she has cast off her wavering ropes of evil thoughts.

Shun’oku-Sōei has converted her three earthly desires- attachment, anger, ignorance - into wisdom to reject committing deeds of wickedness, to practice virtue, and to work for others. Employing her six senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and consciousness - she impartially displays her gifted supernatural power. Her thoughts are so plain and thorough that her enlightenment would shine above the deep blue sea. Her sense organs are so smoothly open to the universe that Shun’oku-Sōei could cause the moon to appear in the azure sky. She can see the tint of mountains with her eyes closed, and can listen to the sound of water running down through gorges with her ears shut up by her hands. Removing herself from thinking of trivial matters, Shun’oku-Sōei bravely strives to roll “Horin” or the wheel of doctrines, and to spread the teachings of Zen Buddhism. She studies assiduously (she has never been ashamed of her hard study regardless of an understanding or a prejudice in which Zen-sect priests or nuns do not study); she pursues the founder’s dogma thoroughly.

“Satori” or Enlightenment takes place in the practice of daily life, truth is present in the ways of existence of humans and all other nature in the universe, in which each exists without binding, or invading, but fusing and united. Thus, truth should not be depicted in colors, and cannot have its essential property extracted, ever. How should we make a distinction between black and white; a true state reveals itself wherever it is.

Originally, Shun’oku-Sōei became a disciple at Daitoku-ji, and was well trained there; soon, she became the head nun of Sōun-an temple. She has cultivated her virtue, which has been fully raised, just as the bletillas healthily thrive in the garden of Sōun-an. A gentle breeze is blowing through the temple gate of the nun of virtue. Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha……….

The last word has not been said on this nun yet, it is impossible to finish..….

Thus, a disciple called Soyu-Zasu, who is a grandchild of Shun’oku-Sōei, asked a painter to draw her portrait, and asked me to write the inscription in the space of the picture. It was hard to decline the offer; therefore, I have tried to do my best to meet the demand in this way.

On an auspicious day of August, 1546 Shunrin-Soshuku, former abbot of Daitoku-ji (Ninety-eighth), and present abbot of the Tokuzen-ji, wrote this inscription under the authentic tower of Buddha’s ashes.

Comments on the inscription and painting

Shun’oku-Sōei’s grandchild Soyu-Zasu (zasu means head priest) must have been very proud of his grandmother, and influential, to commission the painter Tosa Mitsumochi (ca.1496-1559) of the established Tosa school of painting to paint her

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commemorative portrait.8 In addition the painting’s inscription, written by an important religious figure Shunrin-Soshuku, the former abbot (98th) of the prestigious Zen temple Daitoku-ji, suggests that the nun was highly regarded. According to the inscription Shun’oku-Sōei was “well trained” at Daitoku-ji, an institution associated with Rinzai Zen, a Buddhist sect popular with the elite military classes. Indeed, during the 16th century many sub-temples at Daitoku-ji were established with patronage from the warrior class to provide for lay mortuary sites. Rinzai Zen, with its high status patrons and influential temples in Kyoto and Kamakura teaches that anyone can attain enlightenment, male or female, through a rigorous program of seated meditation and training under a Zen master. Indeed, the text emphasizes Shun’oku-Sōei’s diligence in studying Zen doctrines and her natural propensity “gifted supernatural power” for understanding the nature of the universe. The nun’s rigorous ascetic practices involving hard blows with a wooden stick (tokuzan bo) and shouts (katsu) as she dissolves the barrier of ego are praised, as is her resulting unity with the cosmos: 9

“She can see the tint of mountains with her eyes closed, and can listen to the sound of water running down through gorges with her ears shut up by her hands”.

The text clearly states Shun’oku-Sōei’s active role in transmitting Zen Buddhist doctrines to others: She “bravely strives to …….spread the teachings of Zen Buddhism”. Indeed, after her thorough training at Daitoku-ji she became head nun at Sōun-an, a temple/convent that no longer exists. There is, however, another temple called Sōun-ji, built by the warrior Hōjō Ujitsuna (1487-1541) in 1521 as a memorial temple for his father, the warlord and Buddhist lay-priest Hōjō Sōun (1432-1519).

Sōun-ji, also associated with the Rinzai sect, is located in the mountainous area of Hakone, Kanagawa prefecture. The temple was damaged by fire in 1590 but rebuilt in 1672. Is it possible that the convent Sōun-an, was a sub-temple linked to Sōun-ji, and Shun’oku-Sōei was associated with the Odawara Hōjō clan, a powerful military family during Japan’s warring (sengoku) period (1467- ca.1603)? 10 Hōjō Sōun and his forces gained control of Izu province in 1491 and by the sixteenth century the Odawara Hōjō clan governed a large part of the Kanto region.11 Information regarding Hōjō Sōun’s early years is scant but he likely spent his twenties in Kyoto studying Zen Buddhism and the

8 Tosa Mitsumochi secures ownership of the Okumosha estate in 1523, an indication that he was director of the Painting Bureau. One of Mitsumochi’s most important patrons was Ashikaga Yoshiharu (1511-1550). See Melissa McCormick, Tosa Mitsunobu and the Small Scroll in Medieval Japan (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2009), 206-209.

9 Zen masters use blows with a stick and shouts (katsu) to shock the monks and nuns into clearing their minds of delusive thoughts.10 According to the current (2016) head monk of Sōun-ji temple, there is no record of Shun’oku-Sōei or Sōun-an associated with Sōun-ji. However, it is possible that early records relating to the nun and Sōun-an were destroyed in the fire of 1590, along with the buildings.11 Michael Birt, “Samurai in Passage: The Transformation of the Sixteenth-Century Kanto,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 11, (1985): 370-372.

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Chinese classics at Daitoku-ji.12 It is known that some time between 1492 and 1495 Hōjo Sōun donned monk’s clothing and became a lay-priest affiliated with the Rinzai sect.13 In later battles he assumed the semi-ecclesiastical role of a warrior monk. If indeed, Shun’oku-Sōei was associated with the Odawara Hōjō clan and her portrait was originally housed in a sub-temple of Sōun-ji, Hakone, how did the painting end up at the temple complex of Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, the site of her ordination? A host of factors: fires, warring factions, anti-Buddhist sentiments, shifting cultural patterns, and doctrinal and institutional changes, contributed to the “ebb and flow” of Buddhist artworks/artefacts at Daitoku-ji, and indeed at other Buddhist institutions.14 These various factors may account for the provenance of Shūn’oku-Sōei’s portrait.

Towards the end of the inscription the writer Shunrin-Soshuku reveals that Shūn’oku-Sōei attained enlightenment through “cultivating her virtue”; she purified her mind and body by diligently following Buddhist precepts. Shun’oku-Sōei’s virtue blossomed, like a flowering bletilla (an orchid with medicinal properties) in the convent garden. She reached a state of bliss, the “Gateless Gate”, a realization that the self and the universe are in fact one. The line “A gentle breeze is blowing through the temple gate of the nun of virtue. Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha………” is amusing because there are no tangible barriers (temple gate) or hindrances between the nun and enlightenment. Reference to “a gentle breeze” also brings to mind a line from a verse by the 11th century Chinese Chan Buddhist master Hsüeh-T’ou: “But everywhere - the gentle breezes” interpreted by Zen practitioner and scholar Katsuki Sekida as “When you have once lost your life and then regained it, you will find that soft breezes blow gently through the whole world”.15 The reference to laughter in the text, “Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha ……..” reflects a state of mind,which is attained by a monk/nun as a result of Satori or Enlightenment. “Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha” is a common expression in Zen writing. As master Hsüeh-T’ou states: “When one had understanding, one should laugh; one should not weep.”  16

Returning to the painted image of Shun’oku-Sōei, the nun’s delineated facial features suggest an individual, however, at the same time this portrait is part of an historic line of commemorative Chan/Zen portraits of Buddhist clergy (chinsō) dating from the Buddhist sect’s earliest years that adhere to pictorial and iconographic conventions regarding facial appearance, attire and composition.17 In Chinese and later

12 Carl Steenstrup, “Hōjō Sōun’s Twenty-One Articles. The Code of Conduct of the Odawara Hōjō,” Monumenta Nipponica 29, (1974): 283-284. 13 Steenstrup 291.14 Gregory Levine, Daitokuji: The Visual Cultures of a Zen Monastery (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2005), xxxviii.15 K. Sekida, trans.: Two Zen Classics: The Gateless Gate and the Blue Cliff Records, Boston 2005, pp. 392-393.16 Klein, Allan. “Zen Humor: From Ha-Ha to Ah-Ha.” Articles (2012). http://www.allenklein.com/articles/zenhumor.htm (as of 19 March 2018).17 By the late 14th century in Japan, chinsō portraits, in addition to functioning as ritual icons within a mortuary context, acquired multiple roles such as a genealogical artefact and a “communal marker of dharma kinship”. See Yukio Lippit, “Negative Verisimilitude: The Zen

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Japanese paintings of Chan/Zen Buddhist clerics the figure often occupies a chair placed on a diagonal axis, the body is shown in three-quarter view with head turned to the left, a stool occupies the foreground, and a verse is inscribed above the figure. One example of a memorial painting featuring such traits is the portrait painting of Zen Buddhist monk Shōkei Jōfu (1474-1536) the founding abbot of Kōrin’in, another sub temple of Daitoku-ji (Fig.2). Jōfu’s portrait in ink and color on silk painted shortly before Shun’oku-Sōei’s portrait features an autographic inscription dated 1536.18

A comparison of the two paintings reveals striking similarities. Both subjects are elderly Zen Buddhist clerics dressed in religious attire, depicted in three-quarter view, and seated in diagonally aligned chairs. The clerics’ shaven heads are similar in shape with a flattened cranium and as their heads shift to the left, their cheekbones protrude in similar fashion. Both paintings feature a stool in the foreground and a commemorative inscription on a plain background above the figure. Differences, however, highlight Jōfu’s high-ranking status as founding abbot of Kōrin’in, as opposed to Shun’oku-Sōei’s lower position as head nun of the convent Sōun-an. In essence, Shun’oku-Sōei’s portrait is a pared-down version of the abbot’s portrayal. Jōfu’s body, seated in an ornate lacquered chair with distinctive curves (kyokuroku) and clothed in layers of clerical robes with numerous folds, fills the lower half of the painting. His outermost garment (kesa) is fastened with an octagonal tortoiseshell ring (kan). Jōfu wears his shoes while meditating. The monk’s fleshy nose, lips that turn slightly upwards at the corners, and large staring eyes create an impression of vitality. In his right hand he holds a fly-whisk (hossu), a symbol of the Zen master’s authority to transmit the Buddha’s teachings to others. Conversely, the nun wears fewer garments with more compact folds as she sits in a humble bamboo chair surrounded by empty space. Without external implements of authority she assumes the mudra of meditation. The nun’s features are more wizened - narrow eyes, sunken cheeks, and thin, downturned mouth – but her pink cheeks suggest a robust constitution despite her elderly appearance.

Portrait in Medieval Japan,” in Vishakha Desai, ed., Asian Art History in the Twenty-First Century (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007), 65-95.18 Jōfu’s portrait and inscription are reproduced in Muneo Maruoka, ed., Daitokuji bokuseki zenshū, vol. 2, (Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1984-1986), nos. 57, 59. Yoshiro Okaya took the colour photograph of Jōfu’s portrait, illustrating this paper, in November 2017 at Kōrin-in, Kyoto, with the kind permission of Abbot Yodo Fukushiro.

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Fig. 2 Portrait of the Monk Shōkei Jōfu by unknown artistHanging scroll, ink and color on silkHeight 114.0, width 48.3 cmAutographic inscription dated 1536

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Kōrin’in, KyotoPhoto by Yoshiro Okaya

Although Shun’oku-Sōei’s diligent efforts to become an exemplary Zen Buddhist nun are lauded in the painting’s inscription, visually, her status appears modest within the hierarchical system of Zen Buddhist institutions. However, as with all chinsō, the power of Shun’oku-Sōei’s portrait as a focus of ritual and veneration should not be underestimated, especially when enshrined in a sacred space accompanied by candlelight, the smell of incense, votive offerings and the prayers of disciples and followers. According to scholar Bernard Faure in his book The Rhetoric of Immediacy: A Cultural Critique of Chan/Zen Buddhism, chinsō in ritual practice “are not merely “realistic,” they are real”, functioning as live portraits of deceased masters rather than simple metaphoric symbols.19 In this regard, the portrait of Shun’oku-Sōei is, not merely a life-like depiction of Shun’oku-Sōei, it is Shun’oku-Sōei. Through various enshrinement rites (anza) the nun’s portrait becomes spiritually activated, a “living double” for the deceased Shun’oku-Sōei. Her portrait therefore encapsulates the dialectic of Form within the Buddhist ontology of Emptiness, acting as a mediator between the visible and invisible.

Several questions regarding Shun’oku-Sōei remain unanswered, for example, why did she become a Zen Buddhist nun after her early years as a wife and mother? Presumably, she was once married and had a child because it was her grandchild Soyu-Zazu who commissioned the nun’s portrait. Focusing on conditions for women during Shun’oku-Sōei’s lifetime may shed some light on the matter.

During the Muromachi (Ashikaga) period (1392-1573), an era of military strife and shifting economic and social patterns, women suffered a decline in status. Under the persistent threat of war, heads of households increasingly left all property to a male heir to preserve their estates. New marriage policies dictated that the bride transfer allegiance from her own family to that of her husband. Confucian principles, which found support amongst the warrior class, fostered a patriarchal family system where women’s designated roles were those of subservient daughter, wife and mother. Deprived of property rights and the protection of her family after marriage, women became economically and socially vulnerable. In this climate of exclusion and constriction dominated by a masculine military culture, opportunities for women shrank. Conventsmeanwhile provided a safe haven for women in distress such as aristocrats who despaired of life, war widows, the sick and impoverished.20 In addition, as ordination controls loosened and revivalist movements championed the inclusion of nuns in monastic orders, 19 Bernard Faure, The Rhetoric of Immediacy: A Cultural Critique of Chan/Zen Buddhism (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1991), 170.

20 Barbara Ruch discusses the various types of nunhood and motivations for becoming a nun in medieval history and literature in “The Other Side of Medieval Culture,” in Kozo Yamamura, ed., The Cambridge History of Japan: Medieval Japan, vol. 3, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 500-511. See also, Bernard Faure, The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity and Gender (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2003), 28-54.

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Page 12: Zen Buddhism · Web viewAside from meditation, Zen practice includes manual labour and study of koan (questions or exchanges) with a Zen master as methods of attaining clarity necessary

Virginia Review of Asian Studies: 20 (2018) 122-133ISSN: 2169-6306Neave: Nun Shun’oku-Sōei

convents attracted women interested in pursuing a religious path. New nunneries were constructed and older, decaying ones revived. Similar to Zen Buddhist monasteries, although less visible, Zen convents became vibrant centers of spiritual, intellectual and artistic activity. In addition to meditation and menial tasks the nuns copied sutras, composed poetry and produced paintings. Shun’oku-Sōei’s motivations for becoming a Zen Buddhist nun are unknown.

The hanging scroll’s inscription reveals much about the nun’s dedication to Zen Buddhism, her path to enlightenment, and devotion to spreading the Buddha’s teachings as head nun of Sōun-an, but no mention of her husband and his lineage. Although born into a military family as the daughter of Shinomiya Tengai, a retainer of feudal lord Hosokawa, she was well respected as a nun attested to by the fine quality of her portrait by established artist Tosa Mitsumochi, and the detailed inscription written by an important Buddhist cleric, Shunrin-Soshuku, the former abbot of Daitoku-ji. Moreover, as a devout nun, she earned the position of head nun at Sōun-an, possibly, as this paper proposes, a sub-temple of Sōun-ji, Hakone, bringing her into the orbit of the Odawara Hōjō clan. Ultimately as Shunrin-Soshuku the author of the painting’s inscription writes:“The last word has not been said on this nun yet, it is impossible to finish..…

Acknowledgements:

I am very grateful to Japanese scholars Sotetsu Abe, Ken Mikata, Toki Okada and Mineko Matano for their translation of the inscription accompanying the portrait of Nun Shun’oku-Sōei. In addition I would like to thank professor Patricia Fister for reading this paper and providing invaluable suggestions for improvement. Thanks also to photographers Yoshiro Okaya and Junko Okaya for their work at Kōrin-in, Kyoto, and to Toda Jitsuzan, head priest of Daiji-in, Kyoto, and Abbot Yodo Fukushiro of Kōrin-in, Kyoto, for their assistance in viewing the paintings and granting permission for the images to be published in this paper.

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