Characters - Abbot

CHINA; Southern Song dynasty

This calligraphy was written after National Master Enni Ben’en returned to Japan from his travels in China. It was sent by his master, Wuzhun Shifan. The scripting of the Chinese characters, “Fang Zhang” (abbot), became popular and was frequently reproduced in temples around Japan shortly thereafter. Several copies of the original have been made. The original work, kept at Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto, was listed as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1974.
There were frequent interactions between Japanese and Chinese Chan Buddhist monks during the Song dynasty (960–1279), and Chinese-style calligraphy was naturally passed to Japan through these encounters. The large characters in this work appears grand and dominating.
Zhang Jizhi, who was also known as Wenfu or Chuliao, was a calligrapher from the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). In addition to this piece, Zhang scripted several Buddhist sutras, which also greatly influenced calligraphy by Japanese monks.