Kannon on a Lotus Petal

Painting by Shōzan Gen’yō 照山元瑶 Japanese
 Inscription by Yinyuan Longqui (Ingen Ryūki) 隱元隆琦 Chinese
 Inscription by Muan Xingtao (Mokuan Shōtō) 木庵性瑫 Chinese

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This painting of Guanyin (Kannon, in Japan) encapsulates the remarkable history of the Ōbaku school of Zen, which was brought from China to Japan in the seventeenth century. The school’s religious and political influence would grow to hold sway even in the imperial palace in Kyoto. The painting is by an imperial princess, daughter of the highly cultured and spiritually inclined Emperor Go-Mizunoo. Genyō trained in Zen teachings and meditation practice in her youth, and then encouraged her father to support Ingen and his Ōbaku sect. The two inscriptions on this painting are by Yinyuan (on the left) and his top pupil Muan.

Kannon on a Lotus Petal, Painting by Shōzan Gen’yō 照山元瑶 (Japanese, 1634–1727), Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan

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Kannon on a Lotus Petal, Painting by Shōzan Gen’yō 照山元瑶 (Japanese, 1634–1727), Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan
Kannon on a Lotus Petal, Painting by Shōzan Gen’yō 照山元瑶 (Japanese, 1634–1727), Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan

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