16. Ôhara Donshû († 1857)Shijô
BijinSigned: Donshû, Chôfu shûjindai
Seals: Donshû, Shiken, Shô.. .. kin (tp),
Technique: sumi and light colours on paper, 117.5 x 26.9
Mounting: bronze green brocade and beige silk
189 x 36.2
Condition: stain on top of the mounting, otherwise good
The inscription seems to be after Ikkyû Sôjin (1394-1481) in a story by Takuan Sôhô (1573-1645), both Zen monks.
仏は法を売、祖師は仏を売、末世の僧は祖師を売。汝は五尺のからだを売て、一切衆生の煩悩をやんす。色即是空 空即是色。柳はみどり、花は紅の色いろいろ。池の面によなく月ハ かよへとも 心もとめず, 影ものこさず.
The Buddha sells his teachings and the Patriarch sells the Buddha; the monks from the end times (i.e. the time of the decline of Buddhism in which people believed they were in the Middle Ages) sell the Patriarch. You sell your body of the five feet and alleviate the suffering of all beings. [Quote heart sutra:] form equals emptiness, emptiness equals form (here is a convenient use of the word 色, in a specialist Buddhist sense: the aspect, the form, the perceptible of a thing, but here used in an everyday sense, not of color but of its derivative "sex"), the willow is green, the flower red (a well-known quote from a poem by Su Dongbo): the nocturnal moon may shine on the pond surface, it does not remain in the heart and the light is lost.
含嬌含態步遲遲
新樣粧求心恨誰
柳緑花紅真有色
一鉤閑月照清池
With her beautiful figure she slowly moves on.
She has dressed up new but is angry with someone.
Willows are green, flowers red, the colors are real.
The sickle of the winter moon shines in the clear pond.
Donshû was born in Awa. He went to Kyôto where he was adopted by the important government official Õhara Donkyô (1761-1810). Like his father, Donshû received his training from the Shijô-style painter Shibata Gitô (1780-1819). He was well acquainted with the bunjin Nukina Kaioku (1778-1863), who also came from Awa.
Reference:
Roberts p.182 (Tonshû)
Araki p. 894
Kyoto '98 p. 270
Haiku & Haiga ‘06 # 56
Price: EUR 1,250 / USD 1,475