Kannon on a Lotus Petal

Shōzan Gen’yō 照山元瑶

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This painting of Guanyin (Kannon, in Japan) encapsulates the remarkable history of the Ōbaku school of Zen, which was brought from China to Japan in the seventeenth century. The school’s religious and political influence would grow to hold sway even in the imperial palace in Kyoto. The painting is by an imperial princess, daughter of the highly cultured and spiritually inclined Emperor Go-Mizunoo. Genyō trained in Zen teachings and meditation practice in her youth, and then encouraged her father to support Ingen and his Ōbaku sect. The two inscriptions on this painting are by Yinyuan (on the left) and his top pupil Muan.

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