SHIMIZU (Kosho)
Sanbo geishun [New Year's Greetings from a Mountain Hut].
Exuberant paintings by a retired monk
A private edition of characterful paintings by a Shimizu Kosho (1911-1999), one of Japan’s most famous monks of the modern period. Shimizu had a gift for calligraphy, and his creativity extended to painting and ceramics too.
Shimizu entered Hogo-in, a sub-temple of Todaiji in Nara, in 1927 when he was only 16 years old. He was sent to China during the war and experienced the end of WW2 on Lu-shan (one of the holy Buddhist mountains) where he was posted. He became the abbot of Todaiji Temple in 1975 and the head of the Kegon sect. The present book was printed at the end of 1986 - some five years after he had retired from his duties at Todaiji – and intended it as a New Year’s message to his friends. The album is largely of landscapes and Buddhist themes.
Rare in commerce. No copy in OCLC.
