Sesshu, Jakuchu, Okyo … Artistic treasures of Shokoku-ji temple in Kyoto on view at Tokyo University of the Arts museum

Shokoku-ji, a Rinzai Zen school temple in Kyoto established in the late 14th century under the auspices of the third shogun of the Muromachi shogunate Yoshimitsu Ashikaga (1358-1408), is renowned for its close ties over the centuries with the great masters of Japanese art including Sesshu Toyo (15th-16th century), the ink painting master who trained as a Zen monk at the temple, and Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800), the eccentric artist of the Edo period who dedicated his magnum opus “Colorful Realm of Living Beings” (comprising 30 hanging scroll paintings) to the temple.

Shokoku-ji Jotenkaku Museum 40th Anniversary Exhibition
Legacy of Zen Temples:
Shokoku-ji, Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji, Kyoto

Mar 29 (Sat) – May 25 (Sun), 2025

The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts
(Ueno Park, Tokyo)

*See outline below for details

The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts in Tokyo’s Ueno Park is currently running “Legacy of Zen Temples: Shokoku-ji, Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji, Kyoto,” a special exhibition featuring the works of Sesshu, Jakuchu and those of other master artists associated with Shokoku-ji. The exhibition is also held to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Jotenkaku Museum, a Shokoku-ji affiliate dedicated to conserving and exhibiting the temple’s artistic treasures. The Jotenkaku Museum also houses works of art belonging to the famous Kinkaku-ji (Rokuon-ji) and Ginkaku-ji (Jisho-ji), which are affiliated with Shokoku-ji.

Among the 170 or so works of art to go on display in the exhibition, which opened on March 29, 2025, are a number of ink paintings by Jakuchu, such as the “Bamboo and tiger” (Edo period, 18th century; Rokuon-ji), “Hoju and Noshi” (ditto) and “Rokuon-ji Ojo-in panel paintings” (Edo period, dated 1759; Rokuon-ji), all of which are seldom exhibited in Tokyo.

The absolute must-sees are the two designated national treasures on display, one of which is the tortoise-shell Tenmoku tea bowl adorned with a pattern of scattered petals (Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th century; Shokoku-ji). The display (top photo), with Azuchi–Momoyama period painter Hasegawa Tohaku’s golden “Bush clover and pampas grass” folding screens in the background, is rather exquisite. The other is a work of calligraphy by Wuxue Zuyuan (Mugaku Sogen), a Zen priest from Song dynasty China, who founded the Engaku-ji temple in Kamakura.

The “Handscrolls of Seven Misfortunes and Seven Fortunes” (Edo period, dated 1768) by Edo-period artist Maruyama Okyo, a designated important cultural property of Japan, is another notable work of art on display. An inscription by priest Yujo of the Enman-in temple in today’s Otsu, Shiga Pref., reveals that he entrusted the production of these handscrolls to Okyo because he could not do it himself. Priest Yujo took notes of Okyo’s painting methods in “Banshi (Records of various matters)” (Edo period, dated 1761-73; Shokoku-ji), which is also showcased in the exhibition.

The exhibition runs through May 25, 2025.