“Udumbara Flowers” (Udonge) Temple Plaque
This plaque preserves the calligraphy of the Chinese monk Yinyuan Longqi, the founding abbot of the Ōbaku Zen monastery Manpukuji. Such carved wooden plaques with inscriptions in the brush writing of famous Chinese monks were prominently displayed on the portals and in the halls of Ōbaku monasteries. Udumbara flowers symbolize the transmission of the dharma from master to disciple, since the historic Buddha is said to have held such a blossom when preaching to followers.
Artwork Details
- 隱元隆琦書 「優曇華」額
- Title: “Udumbara Flowers” (Udonge) Temple Plaque
- Artist: Inscription by Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) (Chinese, 1592–1673)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: carved 1741
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Carved wood; lacquer, color, and gold
- Dimensions: 23 1/4 × 46 7/16 in. (59 × 118 cm)
- Classification: Lacquer
- Credit Line: Gift of Kurt A. Gitter and Alice Yelen Gitter, from the Gitter-Yelen Foundation
- Object Number: 2023.584
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki)
mid-17th to mid-18th century
Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki)
17th or 18th century
Multiple artists/makers
late 17th century
Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki)
1671
Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki)
late 17th century
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