HOTEI(BUDAI)

Hotei (Bu-tai) by Mokuan Reien is a 14th century Zen painting, in ink on paper, hanging scroll. It portrays Hotei, the legendary Chinese Zen monk who was related to Miroku, the Buddha of the future, pointing upwards towards the heavens. Instead of adding elaborate details or background elements, Mokuan constructs the composition by carefully using the ink – the simplicity of the image thus becomes the focus of its message. The figures are drawn with a sense of movement and expressiveness, employing delicate and economical brushstrokes that capture the essence of the scene.The figures are deceptively simple, created with fluid and economical brushstrokes that evoke a sense of movement and expressiveness. The surrounding empty space provides a sense of openness and spiritual stillness, allowing the viewer to contemplate the scene's quiet beauty. The composition is controlled, a style inspired by the Chan Buddhist painting style which had originated in China and was related to Zen Buddhist communities in Japan. Mokuan's artistic training in Yuan China was especially important, for he was noted there as a painter who was closely associated with that of the famous Chan painter Muqi. His style exemplifies the process whereby Chinese Chan painting was not just transported into Japan but transformed in the process of the visitations of Japanese monk-painters making trips between the two cultural worlds. The Chinese Chan master Liao'an Qingyu adds to this relationship through the inscription. The work is dated by tradition to 1333-43, when Mokuan was serving at Benjue Temple under Liao'an. The upward gesture of the Hotei figure can thus be interpreted not only as a storyline, but as a visual representation of spiritual anticipation and spiritual illumination. The painting uses very little color and some inkwork to create its expressive quality, emphasizing empty space, and thereby evoking Zen concepts of spontaneity, transcendence and the search for spiritual enlightenment.