Description

The Zen monk-painter Bokusai resided at the influential Daitoku-ji temple in Kyoto. His portrayals of Zen patriarchs are among the most dynamic representations of their kind in the history of Japanese ink painting. There was a variety of surface damage that marred the letter: lifting, tears, discoloration, and poorly executed repairs done at the time the previous owners remounted the piece. This recent restoration corrects those trouble spots, strengthens the backing paper supports, and introduces a more appropriate combination of textile materials for such a distinguished artifact left by an eminent Zen monk-painter of the 1400s.