Visiting the World of Landscape Painting and Touching the Zen State of Mind

2023/11/22

風揺秋水絶漁蹤、波上客船遊興濃、夜半楓橋夢驚処、寒山月落一声鐘

As the autumn waters sway in the wind and the tracks of fishing boats vanish, the banquet on the boat where I, the traveler, stay is at its height. (When it ended) at midnight by the Maple Bridge, I suddenly awoke from a dream; the moon was setting over Hanshan Temple, and the sound of a bell echoed.

(Transcription and commentary of the Chinese poem by Professor Takashi Horikawa, Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko))

This poem, composed by Sesshin Tohaku (1383–1459) for this painting, is based on Zhang Ji's poem "Mooring at Night by the Maple Bridge." This poem was included in the "Three Styles of Poetry" (Santishi), which was widely read as an introductory text for poetry in the Five Mountains (Gozan) Zen temples during the Muromachi period. Among Japanese Zen monks, various imaginative interpretations were made regarding the protagonist's situation and feelings. One interpretation suggests that since Gusu (Suzhou) was a central city in the Jiangnan region with an entertainment district and many courtesans, the protagonist might have spent the night alone because his courtesan was taken by another boat. Sesshin's line "the banquet is at its height" likely reflects this interpretation.

A work similar to this one in both painting style and inscription exists in the Burke Collection. The Burke Collection piece bears the seal of "Shusei," suggesting that the same artist painted this work. Shusei may have been a warrior-painter from Mino, the same hometown as Sesshin, or it could possibly be a self-painted work with an inscription by Sesshin himself. Looking closely at the painting, a pagoda is visible on the mountain in the upper right. This is the pagoda of Hanshan Temple, from which the sound of the bell likely originates. A boat is moored at the foot of the bridge, and on the opposite bank, there are trees with reddish-brown autumn leaves. There are several buildings, and human figures can be seen inside. While the time in the poem is midnight, the sky appears to be whitening, suggesting it may be close to dawn. By using one's imagination alongside the poem, one can vicariously experience the loneliness felt by the traveler when, after the festivities, he wakes up to the sound of the bell in the quiet boat and gazes at the scenery outside.

This work can be viewed at the exhibition "Tokiwayama Bunko x Keio University: Gayu — Zen Gazes Across Time and Space" (until December 1). We hope you will visit the gallery to enter the world of the paintings and enjoy the experience of imagining your own stories (Gayu).

(Fumi Matsutani, Keio Museum Commons)