Designated Cultural Property of Yamagata Prefecture
Wuzhun Shifan
China, Southern Song Dynasty (13th century)
Acquired in 1965 (donated by the Homma family)
Wuzhun Shifan (1177–1249) was a Zen monk of the Southern Song Dynasty in China. He was awarded the title Fojian Yuanzhao Chanshi (Mirror of the Buddha Zen Master) by Emperor Lizong, fifth emperor of the dynasty. Many Zen monks traveled from Japan in search of his teachings.
This is a letter from Master Wuzhun to his fellow Zen master, Daoqi. Wuzhun’s penmanship has been posthumously prized as a masterpiece of bokuseki (a style of calligraphic painting mediated upon in tea ceremony). It was handed down to the Homma family from Jōfuku-ji Temple in Sakata.