Lecture by National Master Daito

JAPAN; Muromachi period

Ikkyu Sojun was a student of Zen Buddhism under Chan Master Xutang Zhiyu and National Master Daito. This piece of work was written during a lesson with Daito. It was listed as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1959.
The calligraphy was scripted with rapid brushstrokes in a balanced range of shades. Despite the recurrence of regular script in the piece, the highly expressive work exudes a strong cursive script tendency, as well as a variety in line thickness. There is an occasionally allusion to the style of Mi Fu, where strokes are broad yet tenderly executed, a feature passed down from National Master Daito.
Ikkyu Sojun was a Japanese Rinzai monk of the Muromachi period (1392–1573). He was skilled in music, calligraphy, and painting, and was fond of using bamboo slips as a writing instrument. His calligraphic style is often regarded as a mirror of his congenial and unconventional nature.