Sankei HARA and Kōsanji -Temple

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  • 高山寺明恵上人七百年遠忌点描２ ―原富太郎（三溪）―
  • コウサンジ ミョウエ ショウニン ナナヒャクネン オンキ テンビョウ(2)ゲン フ タロウ(サンケイ)

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Abstract

In this paper I examine the relationship between Kōsanji-Temple in Kyoto, Japan and Sankei HARA (1868-1939), who was a very successful businessman and well-known collector of antiquities in modern Japan. In 1931, Sankei painted the portrait of Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism (Fig.2), and donated it on the seven hundredth anniversary of the death of the Buddhist monk Myōe who re-established Kōsanji. This painting and his reproductions (Fig.6 and 7) of the portrait of Myōe (Fig.5), owned by Kōsanji, and“Sakyamuni Descending the Mountain”(Fig.8), owned by Sankei and has Kōsanji signature stamp, have three elements in common: 1. No trace of extreme ascetic practice. 2. No contemplative or seated meditative figures. 3. No worshipped figures with halos. These works are his self-portraits of sorts and the reflections of his life philosophy, which he had gained through his experiences in the silk industry, known as a “raging horse” because of the “bumpy ride” and the tough negotiations with foreign countries. They are also the reflections of his view on Buddhist art, refined by the beauty emanating from the antiquities he had collected. His life philosophy and view on Buddhist art had attained a level of mastery highly recognized by prominent hierarchs at the time. The praise for his painting of Huineng states Honrai Muichimotsu（“Originally there is nothing”). As he kept this in mind, he bought and used a Red Raku tea bowl named Muichimotsu（“Nothingness”). Sankei neither attended the ceremony of the seven hundredth anniversary at Kōsanji in 1931, nor practiced seated meditation as Myōe and Zen Buddhist monks did. But he certainly continued to feel close to Kōsanji and Myōe by possessing art works which held a connection to Kōsanji, reproducing them and painting portraits as self-reflections.

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