_KANZAN AND JITTOKU_

An essay by: Michael A. Luzzi

 This work of art done by Hashimoto Gaho (1835 – 1908) in the Kano style

of painting, during pre-Meiji restoration period in 1886. The painting

is on a hanging scroll backed by silk and was created using ink and

slight tint on paper. Dimensions; Height: 227.6 cm. Width: 78.6 cm.

Shown in the painting are seventh century Buddhist Zen monks, Kanzan

and Jittoku. The pair has tattered robes and tangled hair. Kanzan an

eccentric poet is seen holding a scroll and the other, Jittoku, a simple

and foolish scullion is depicted holding a broom. The pair is enjoying a

walk in nature laughing freely at what would appear to be some cosmic

joke. Upon closer inspection you’ll note the partly opened scroll Kanzan

is carrying has no words written down on it, yet despite this Jittoku is

still laughing, pointing towards the scroll itself.

My attraction to this artwork is that the person to the right (Jittoku)

looks like he his holding a broom, however the hand that should be

holding it is pointing. There is also no visible sign that the broom is

leaning against the rock wall behind them. I thought that this was

instituted as a joke, or some form of optical allusion. In learning

several different iconographies in Buddhist art I assumed that this

couldn’t possibly hold any religious value. Two hermits, a scroll and a

broom, this is a little “out there”. At first I found the painting

humorous, as I studied more and realized there is a time and a place for

everything. The study of art is for the observer to delve deeper into

what the artist is trying to convey. The mysterious complexity is what

ultimately drew me to it.

 Kanzan and Jittoku are, for most of their paintings, Buddhist Zen

monks, though they are later regarded as Bodhisattvas as a succession of

incarnation they become Monju (Sanskrit: Manjus'ri) and Fugen (Sanskrit:

Samantabadhra) and are even seen as part of the shaka triad known as

Shaka Sanzon. For the subject of this comic pair to be regarded as

religious is for the most part, ironic. There’s proper speculation to

say that any form of humor in Buddhism is indeed, secular. If the Buddha

himself had regarded a serious matter such as ignorance with humor I’m

quite sure that would be an oxymoron in and of itself.

I should say the same should apply to the Bodhisattvas as well, however

these are (At the point in time, in reference to the picture)

still regarded as mere pupils, not holy, but a vain people.

A Buddhist Zen monk is not quite an icon of faith for his time. With the

very eccentricities of the Zen masters laughing at their subordinates

when they got a question right or wrong. Their “pro-ambidextrous

trials”.*2

Zen Buddhist art often focuses on everyday events, with ordinary

subjects being brought into a different light. Being as that Zen is as

flexible as it is, Hashimoto could have very easily depicted Kanzan and

Jittoku in a less traditional environment or style to display his

contempt for change during the reformation of the Meiji shogunate.

Given the present circumstances Hashimoto might have even painted the

piece to give hope or to inspire his people, more or less the social

climate being at a downfall as it were. The time could have been pressed

and the painting rushed, but it was so faithfully produced that the very

emperor Meiji himself asked to keep it for an extra six months after it

was brought to exhibition.

 The scrutiny of this work by amateurs has left many to believe that

Kanzan and Jittoku were two old, crazy, hermit monks with nothing better

to do than stare at a blank scroll and sweep the floor. With all the

opinions I find one that suits their characters as Jittoku finds humor

in Kansan’s blank poetry. A previous owner* of the work says: “The old

friends laugh in delight at a blank piece of paper containing 'Vast

emptiness, nothing holy!'”

I would assume in imaginary speculation one theory might be that Kanzan

is really Jittoku’s disciple and that, while in Jittoku’s younger years

might have been a master painter and writer, skillful with the largest

of brushes. But (Maybe) in his older years had such an Enlightenment or

Awakening that he took up sweeping with the giant calligraphy brush

instead of its intended use. (Still that doesn’t top tearing up sutras)

Maybe even because of his master’s change of character and enlightenment

Kanzan himself becomes dimwitted due to his lack of training and carries

around empty scrolls to amuse his master and himself. Traveling up to

the mountains becoming hermits, we may never know.

Looking over the artwork I think that the painting was meant for all

peoples, ranging from the scholarly and adept to the naïve and simple-

hearted. You can gaze deeply at its bold lines and understand the style,

finesse, and movement in creating the brushstrokes, or you can strip the

surroundings and iconographies away and simply be left with two old

friends laughing their heads off. Of course there’s a middle ground as

well, that would be the route I discovered.

 I changed my opinion from: “Oh look! A broom!” to a more refined

answer: Hashimoto’s work was meant as an alleviation of the everyday

mundane, and that he captured the humeral aesthetic of Zen Buddhism.

_______________________________________________________________________

Footnotes

*the previous owner of a “Kanzan and Jittoku” print fancied that one of

the empty scrolls would have had the poetry written on the handles of

the dowels, saying; “vast emptiness, nothing holy!” the owner’s name

wasn’t recorded.

*2 For eating with chopsticks not being allowed to pick up the bowl. the

masters would tie their pupil’s proficient hand behind their back for

weeks at a time. This was to train the student, also, in martial arts.

Michael A. Luzzi - Copyright© 2007