Important Cultural Property
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun

Hanging scroll; ink and colors on silk
H 113.1, W 56.1
Muromachi period　15th century
Bun'an 4　1447

Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun
  • D017424
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun_0
  • D017424
  • 1997/02/07
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun_1

修理前

  • D000412
  •  
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun_2

修理前

  • D000413
  •  
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun_3
  • A024810
  • 1997/02/07
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun_4
  • A024812
  • 1997/02/07
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun_5

修理前

  • A020693
  • 1988/01/13
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun_6

修理前

  • A020695
  • 1988/01/13
Portrait of the Priest Ikkyū Sōjun_7

修理前

  • A020016
  •  

More

This is the oldest extant portrait of Ikkyū Sōjun (1394–1481), a Zen priest in the Daitokuji branch of the Rinzai school. Ikkyū himself inscribed this painting when he was 54. There is a sword in a large vermillion sheath beside him, though it is in fact a wooden sword: this is a subtle critique of society’s value only for what is beautiful on the outside.
 
TANIGUCHI KoseiEnglish by Mary Lewine 
Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, p.333, no.199. 

Accession Number 505-0
Category Paintings
Bibliography Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, 354p. Illustrated Catalogue of the Collection of the Nara National Museum: Buddhist Painting. Nara National Museum, 2002, 169p. (Japanese) Special exhibition of Buddhist portraiture. Nara National Museum, 1981, 212,22p. (Japanese)

Page Top