Temple Plaque “Udumbara Flowers” (Udonge)

This particularly well-preserved plaque preserves the calligraphy of the Chinese monk Yinyuan Longqi (Japanese: Ingen Ryūki), the founding patriarch of the Ōbaku Zen temple Manpukuji, the headquarters of the sect in Uji, near Kyoto. Such plaques are a special feature of Ōbaku Zen temples where wooden plaques (gaku) with calligraphic inscriptions in the handwriting of famous Chinese monks were prominently displayed on temple gateways and halls.

This plaque bears the characters “udonge,” 優曇華 or udumbara flowers in the brush style of Yinyuan. This flower, a type of cluster fig said to bloom once every 3,000 years, became a metaphor for the rarity of a Buddha’s appearance in the world. In the Buddhist scriptural tradition, it is also symbolic of the transmission of the Dharma from master to disciple, since the Buddha Shakyamuni once held an udumbara flower in his hand and his disciple Mahakashyapa received a direct mind to mind transmission, becoming the first patriarch of the monastic order after the nirvana of the Buddha. Thus, the udumbara flower commemorates the foundational moment in the history of the establishment of the monastic tradition.

The founding of Manpukuji in 1661 marked the beginning of a major temple building program by the Ōbaku sect throughout Japan. By 1745, over 1,000 Zen temples were affiliated with the Ōbaku sect, which resulted in a great demand for plaques with the handwriting of Yinyuan and other early émigré prelates. The original location of this plaque is unknown, but the left side of the frame is carved with the patron’s name: “Zen Nun Hōsen Sei.” The right side is carved with the date: the 22nd day of the 7th month in the year 1741 (figs. 1d, 1e). During this period, it was a prevalent practice among elite women to take vows as Buddhist nuns and to support sub-monasteries or local branch temples, perhaps where this plaque was originally displayed. Further investigation is required to ascertain the identity of this patron and the specific circumstances surrounding her commissioning of this plaque.