Daoist Master Fei Zhangfang with a Dragon
Sesson Shūkei Japanese
Not on view
Talismanic images of Daoist figures were frequently seen alongside Buddhist icons in medieval Zen. Sesson, a monk and painter who traveled widely in Japan’s eastern provinces in the mid-sixteenth century, created numerous images of Daoist figures based on older Chinese pictures that had been collected at Zen temples across the region. This painting, from the 1550s, describes a moment from the biography of the semilegendary figure Fei Zhangfang, a failed disciple of the immortal Hugong. Unable to complete his studies of Daoist methods and sent home, Fei tossed the staff from his master into a nearby pond and transformed magically into an auspicious blue dragon.
On display for rotations 3 and 4.
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