Bamboo in Snow

Taihō Shōkon

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The interplay of word and image is a firmly established Chinese tradition that Japanese artists have also cultivated. Taihō, who twice served as abbot of the Manpukuji Temple (headquarters of the Ōbaku Zen sect in Kyoto), is noted for his paintings of bamboo. Another Chinese émigré monk and Manpukuji abbot, Hakujun Shōkō, composed the following poem at the age of eighty to accompany Taihō’s painting: Bamboo expands, putting forth bamboo shoots, over thick green leaves. Let a man contemplate the virtues of bamboo: elegance, strength, and firmness, and purify the roots of his karma.

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