Single Line Daruma, Nakahara Nantenbō

Exhibition Label:
"Nature/Natural," Jan-2014, Kris Ercums
Nantembō was one of the most respcted Zen priests of the 20th century. As a means to achieve enlightenment, he emphasized the practice of meditation and koan (a paradoxical statement or question used as part of meditation). His name, Nantembō, refers to his staff, with which he would strike disciples to “encourage” them when their attention strayed.

Like many Zen masters, Nantembō was a skilled calligrapher. Here, Nantembō portrays an image of Daruma (known in Sanskrit as Bodhidharma), the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism. Daruma is depicted sitting in meditation, seen from the back. This image is identified as “menpeki Daruma” or “wall-facing Daruma,” and is associated with Daruma’s nine-year meditation facing a wall. With a single sweeping brushstroke, Nantembō abbreviates the shape of Daruma as one enormous, seemingly vegetal mass. The abstraction of the figure reflects Nantembō’s inscription, which translates as follows:

The shape of Daruma facing the wall—
Is it a melon or an eggplant
from the fields of Hachiman (Yahata) in Yamashiro?

Nantembō humorously observes further: “If external appearance is all there is to Zen, then the melons and eggplants from Yahata are sitting just as well as Daruma and taste good besides.” Through his ambigous form and humorous comment, Nantembō questions assumptions about the nature of Daruma and meditation practice.