Portrait of Kyūzan Sōei

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This image of the Zen master Kyūzan Sōei (1605–1656) is an example of chinsō—portraits with naturalistic facial details, which masters gave their disciples as certification of their attainment of enlightenment. The portrait is a testimony to a disciple’s participation in the lineage of succession of the Buddhist Law as practiced in Zen. Sōei, 194th abbot of the Zen Buddhist temple Daitokuji, in northern Kyoto, may have presented this work to one of his pupils. The inscription above the seated figure was written by Sōei’s own master, Tenyū Shōkō (1586–1666), Daitokuji’s 169th abbot. Shortly before and during Sōei’s lifetime, Daitokuji achieved prominence from the patronage of the military establishment, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and through connections to important figures in Kyoto’s cultural life such as the tea masters Sen no Rikyū and Kobori Enshū (1579–1647). It was also renowned for its collection of masterworks by Chinese and Japanese painters.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art