HAKUIN EKAKU (1685-1768)


Chigo Monju Bosatsu (The Bodhisattva Monju in the Guise of a Young Acolyte)Edo period (1615-1868), mid-18th centuryHanging scroll, ink on paper; depicting Monju Bosatsu holding a long nyoi scepter in his right hand and a scroll in his left, seated in the "royal ease" posture on a lion with its eyes fixed on the viewer, with seals Hakuin and EkakuWith wood tomobako storage box 34 7/8 x 11in (88.6 x 28.1cm)
|Provenance:John Stevens CollectionMonju Bosatsu is a key figure in the Buddhist pantheon, the wisest of the Bodhisattvas and the one with the keenest intellect and most penetrating insight. In standard depictions, Monju wields a razor sharp sword (to cut through illusion) and a scroll (containing sutras of the highest wisdom) in his left, and sits on a lion whose roar represents the voice of the Buddhist Law. Hakuin's portrayals of Monju ignore some of this traditional iconography and in this case the sword is replaced by a long nyoi (wish-granting) scepter; more significantly perhaps, Monju takes the form of an attractive adolescent boy of the type that acted as lovers for older Buddhist monks. There are many medieval "chigo stories" in which a young lover, revealed to be an incarnation of Kannon or Monju, leads an older monk to enlightenment through sex; see Gary P. Leupp, Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan, Berkeley: University of Chicago Press, 1995, pp. 38-42.Hakuin's depiction of faces is one of the most attractive aspects of his paintings. His figures, human or divine, all have captivating expressions: compassionate, playful, severe, serene, and, in this Chigo Monju, alluring. This painting likely dates from Hakuin's seventh decade.