Shojo Shokado
A Buddhist monk and literary figure of the early Edo period; known as a skilled calligrapher, one of “The Three Brushes of the Kanei Period
1584-1639
Shojo Shokado was a Buddhist monk of the Shingon School in the early Edo period. He served as the chief priest of Takinomoto-bo Temple at Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, and was also known as a calligrapher, painter, and master of the tea ceremony. Shojo Shokado is a representative literary figure of the early Edo period.
He was born in Kasuga, Yamato Province (present day Nara Prefecture). His secular surname was Nakanuma, and his childhood name was Tatsunosuke. His older brother, Sakyo Nakanuma, was the chief priest of Ichijo-in, a sub-temple of Kofuku-ji Temple, and served as shodaibu (high steward) of Sonsei, the older brother of Nobutada Konoe. Also, Sakyo Nakanuma was married to the younger sister of the wife of Enshu Kobori, so through his brother, Shojo Shokado was related by marriage to the Enshu family as well.
It is believed that in his younger years, Shojo Shokado served the Konoe family, and learned It is believed that in his younger years, Shojo Shokado served the Konoe family, and learned the art of calligraphy from Nobutada and his father Sakihisa Konoe. At the age of 17, however, he visited Mt. Otoko on the grounds of Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, and entered the priesthood at the Takinomoto-bo Temple, where he became a disciple of Jitsujo Takinomoto-bo and was granted the name Shojo. There, he studied esoteric Buddhism, received kanjo (a ceremony of consecration performed by pouring water onto the top of the monk’s head), and became an ajari (senior monk). In that period, he used names such as Shuro-bo and Shikibu-kyo, but in 1627, after Jitsujo’s passing, Shojo Shokado succeeded him as the chief priest of Takinomoto-bo Temple and took the name Takinomoto-bo. Other names he used include Seiseio, and Kuushiki. In December 1637, he conceded the post of chief priest to his disciple Jojun, built the Shokado sub-temple nearby, and retired there, taking the name of the temple as his surname. Shojo Shokado passed away in 1639 at the age of 56. His grave is in Taisho-ji Temple in the city of Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture.
As an outstanding painter of suiboku-ga (ink paintings) and yamato-e (classical Japanese decorative paintings), an accomplished calligrapher, and an author of waka poems, Shokado Shojo was a multitalented artist. He was also a master of the tea ceremony, and interacted with numerous literary figures and tea ceremony masters such as Enshu Kobori, Jozan Ishikawa, Choshoshi Kinoshita, Masatoshi Sakawada, Sogan Kogetsu, Mitsuhiro Karasuma, Soho Takuan, and Tanyu Kano. In the field of calligraphy, in particular, Shojo Shokado combined the Oie style, which he studied under Sakihisa Konoe, with the Daishi style, thus creating a unique calligraphy technique, which became known as the Shokado Style (Takinomoto Style). It gained popularity during the Edo period (1603–1868), and produced skilled calligraphers, such as Jojun Takimotobo, Harumi Murata, and Chikage Kato. Numerous calligraphy works written in this style have been published as samples. Later, Shojo Shokado was named one of “The Three Brushes of the Kan’ei Period,” alongside Koetsu Honami and Nobutada Konoe.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Shojo Shokad in late Edo period publications
Related Works
松花堂昭乗が唐の詩人白居易の「長恨歌」と序文を揮毫した詩巻。奥書によれば、慶長19年(1614)の秋に、近衛信尋の命をうけて筆を執ったもので、昭乗三十代半ばの青年期の書である。この冒頭部分は謹直な書きぶりで、いわゆる滝本流の筆致はあまりうかがえない。
松花堂昭乗が唐の詩人白居易の「長恨歌」と序文を揮毫した詩巻。奥書によれば、慶長19年(1614)の秋に、近衛信尋の命をうけて筆を執ったもので、昭乗三十代半ばの青年期の書である。冒頭部分の謹直な書きぶりに比べるとこの巻末では、より自由にな筆致で、滝本流の片鱗がうかがえる。
琵琶湖に浮かぶ竹生島(ちくぶしま)に伝わったことから「竹生島経」と呼ばれてる法華経の巻末に記された松花堂昭乗の跋文。「右法華 方便品 伝来/源左府俊房公之墨痕云云/這公被書宇治平等院額/扉之由見于能書伝令以/此経校之恰如合符節无/毫釐之差最可謂奇珍/者乎。依所望,加奥書矣/寛永丁卯孟春日/雄徳山伝法比丘昭乗(花押)」。源俊房筆とされている平等院の額扉と比べたところ、あたかも割り符がぴったり合うように一致するので、俊房真筆間違いなしと鑑定している。「寛永丁卯孟春日」の日付から、寛永4(1627)年1月の執筆。昭乗の古筆愛好がうかがえるもので、現在でもこれを源俊房筆とする確証はないが、平安時代を代表する装飾経の一つで、昭乗の鑑識眼の確かさを物語る。
Shokado Shojo (1584-1639) was a Shingon Sect priest of the early Edo Period. “Shojo” is a Buddhist name; his real name was Shikibu. He joined the Shinto-Shingon Buddhist shrine of Iwashimizu Hachimangu, or Mt. Otokoyama (Mt. Otoko) Hachiman Shrine, near Kyoto to start religious training under the Reverend Takinobo Jitsujo and succeeded his mentor after his demise. Later, Shojo left the archbishop’s post to his disciple Jojun and retired to live in the Shokado (lit. “Pine and Flower Hall”) that he had erected, hence his literary pseudonym. Though trained by Prince Soncho (1552-1597) of the Shoren-In School of calligraphy, Shojo was more attracted to the Daishi School originated by the ancient religious leader Kobo Daishi Kukai. Some years later, Shojo developed an elegant and chic style of his own, departing from the Shoren-In School foundation. Hailed as Shokado School, or Takimoto School, Shojo’s own style became a fad among calligraphy aficionados and students. In painting, Shojo studied the Chinese India ink techniques of Muqi (Jp: Mokkei) of China’s Sung Dynasty and also mastered the art of colored Japanese painting (yamato-e).Exhibit shows a clear and detailed mountain-and-water landscape painting over underlying designs in silver and gold. In the foreground are a mountain villa and a stream, while peaks are seen at mid-distance. Far in the distance, the clouds adorn the sky, and pine trees are visible among the clouds. The painting is finished luxuriously. The cited poem was written by Fujiwara-no-Sadaie (1162-1241), listed in the Shin Kokin Wakashu (The New Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poems), Vol. I.Shojo is generally known for sophistication, and the exhibited piece showcases his mastery of the Shoren-In School. In the elegantly flowing lines, one can also see traces of the influence of Kohitsu, or classical refinement that dates far back to the Heian Court.
松花堂昭乗が、温庭筠、鮑溶、鄭谷、杜牧などの唐詩を隷書、楷書、草書などのさまざまな書体で書きわけた巻物。掲出画像の左寄りに大きく書かれた「寂」の字は、弘法大師・空海の書をもとに生まれた「大師流」の書風によるものともいわれる。
Shokado Shojo (1584-1639) was a Shingon Sect priest of the early Edo Period. “Shojo” is a Buddhist name; his real name was Shikibu. He joined the Shinto-Shingon Buddhist shrine of Iwashimizu Hachimangu, or Mt. Otokoyama (Mt. Otoko) Hachiman Shrine, near Kyoto to start religious training under the Reverend Takinobo Jitsujo and succeeded his mentor after his demise. Later, Shojo left the archbishop’s post to his disciple Jojun and retired to live in the Shokado (lit. “Pine and Flower Hall”) that he had erected, hence his literary pseudonym. Though trained by Prince Soncho (1552-1597) of the Shoren-In School of calligraphy, Shojo was more attracted to the Daishi School originated by the ancient religious leader Kobo Daishi Kukai. Some years later, Shojo developed an elegant and chic style of his own, departing from the Shoren-In School foundation. Hailed as Shokado School, or Takimoto School, Shojo’s own style became a fad among calligraphy aficionados and students. In painting, Shojo studied the Chinese India ink techniques of Muqi (Jp: Mokkei) of China’s Sung Dynasty and also mastered the art of colored Japanese painting (yamato-e).The exhibit is quotations from the Autobiography of the Master of Five Willows (Ch. Wuliu Xiansheng; Jp: Goryuu Sensei), a famous biography believed to have been written by the Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (Jp. To Enmei; 365-427) is written in the semi-cursive script (gyosho) of writing Chinese characters and the cursive script (sosho). According to the editorial notes at the end, the exhibited piece was written by Shojo on a beautifully decorated ryoshi, commissioned by a noble. It was around this time that citations from』Kobun Shimpo (lit. “Anthology of True Gems of Classical Poetry”), a collection of Chinese poems, essays and other works ranging from the Hang to Sung Dynasties, became popular. Most likely patterned after this fashion, both Hon-ami Koetsu and Shojo often produced decorated quotations like this one to be used as gifts. The Daishi School technique is clear in the clever mixture of large and small letters.
『続古今和歌集』から、春歌9首、夏歌4首、秋歌8首、冬歌4首の都合25首を抄出して、金泥の霞引きをほどこした6曲1双の屏風に散らし書きしたもの。
狩野山楽は、浅井長政の家臣たる木村長光の子で、豊臣秀吉の推挙で狩野永徳に入門、すぐれた画才を発揮した。元和元年〈1615〉豊臣家が滅びると、同家の絵師であった山楽は、石清水八幡宮の松花堂昭乗を頼って身を寄せた。この賛は、その昭乗の自筆。奇しき因縁というべきか。温和で優しい典型的な松花堂流の書風である。「藤原興風/誰をかもしる人にせむ高砂の松も昔の友ならなくに」
本図は、水墨に淡彩を加えた立姿の束帯天神像である。左手に梅枝を持つのは、渡唐天神の図様を取り入れたものであろう。右手の折本は、経典と思われる。賛者の九巌については、日蓮宗の僧・元政(1623-68)の伝歴において、6歳のころ、建仁寺の塔頭・大統院の院主九巌長老に「寧馨児(ねいけいじ)」(神童)といわしめたという。この九巌が本図の賛者ではなかったか。
宛先の式部卿は、近衛家との関係から見て若き日の松花堂昭乗と思われる。「不例(病気)」は平癒したので心配はないことを述べ、松花堂から贈られた枝柿への礼を簡潔に記している。「不例は平癒候、不可/有気遣候、枝柿令/祝着候、先日は一冊令/祝着候/卯月五日 式部卿(花押)」。執筆時期は不明だが、近衛信尹が多病であった晩年のものであろうと思われる。
松花堂昭乗作。
The ‘Yawata-gire’, traditionally attributed to Asukai Masaari contains manuscript copies from Go-Shui Wakashu, or the Later Collection of Gleanings of Japanese Poetry, and Senzai Wakashu (Anthology of Japanese Poems of a Thousand Years). The segment’s name derives from the Iwashimizu Hachiman (another pronunciation Yawata) Shrine in Yamashiro (Kyoto Prefecture), where the original had been handed down from generation to generation. This segment is considered to have been the property of Shokado Shojo (1584-1639), one of the three calligraphy masters of the Kanei Era (1624-1644), and he was a Buddhist priest serving at the Hachiman Shrine. Originally, it was a part of the thread-stitched bound volume. The paper is a kumogami (lit. paper with floating cloud pattern), with purplish and indigo bluish hues. This segment is a ‘elegy’ from Volume 10 of the Later Collection of Gleanings of Japanese Poetry. The handwriting is attributed to Asukai Masaari (1170-1221), a well-known poet of the Kamakura Period, but without verification. From the calligraphic style, the type of decorated paper, and the assumed dates of completion of the Later Collection of Gleanings of Japanese Poetry and Anthology of Japanese Poems of a Thousand Years, one can conclude that the original calligraphy was created toward the latter 13th century during the Kamakura Period.
写真集『聚楽』に収録された松花堂の外観。『聚楽』は、全国の著名な寺院・庭園・茶室などを記録した写真集。橋本基編、座右宝刊行会発行。第4期第7輯は昭和8年(1933)刊。
同じく『聚楽』から松花堂の内部。昭乗自筆の「枩花堂」の扁額が見える。
同じく『聚楽』から松花堂の外観。
松花堂昭乗書写した『和漢朗詠集』の一部。一面に亀甲の文様の入った料紙に書かれるが、掲出の「おもひかねいもかりゆけは冬の夜の河風さむみちとりなくなり(思ひかね妹がり行けば冬の夜の川風寒み千鳥なくなり)」という紀貫之の歌は滝本流ではなく、藤原定家の書風を模して書かれている。
Letters by Shojo Shokado
Successors of the Shokado-ryu school of calligraphy
Institutions Holding Related Materials
The National Diet Library (NDL), founded in 1948, is the library which belongs to the Diet. The NDL assists the activities of the National Diet. The Library collects and conserves materials and information both from Japan and abroad, serving as a foundation of knowledge and culture and providing library services to administrative and judicial entities and Japanese citizens.
The National Archives is an organization for preserving, as historical materials, public records and archives of importance transferred from state organs, and providing them for public use, with the aim of achieving appropriate preservation and use of such public records and archives that are kept in the National Archives or state organs as historical materials.
Kyoto National Museum collects, preserves, displays, researches and provides educational programs focusing on cultural properties from Heian- through to Edo- period Japan, when the capital was located there.
Keio Museum Commons [KeMCo] functions as a "hub" of Keio's cultural assets, which spans a variety of fields including art, archaeology, literature, history, and medicine, and the educational and research activities behind it. At KeMCo, we aim to create a place where various communities can interact and generate new discoveries and ideas based on cultural properties (objects) in an environment where digital and analogue technologies are fused together.
日本ならびに東洋の精神文化を研究する慶應義塾大学の研究所。株式会社麻生商店(現・麻生グループ)社長麻生太賀吉氏が、同商店20周年記念事業の一環として、日本並びに東洋の精神文化を研究する研究所として、1938年12月に福岡市内に設立した財団法人斯道文庫を前身とする。所蔵コレクションのうち「センチュリー赤尾コレクション」は、 旺文社社長であった故赤尾好夫氏が、1979年に設立した財団法人センチュリー文化財団旧蔵のコレクションで、文字文化に関する資料が中核をなしており、さらに絵画資料や工芸品等も良質なものが含まれています。
As Japan’s representative museum, Tokyo National Museum collects, preserves, displays, and researches the cultural properties of Asia with a focus on Japan, and also provides educational programs.
Kyushu National Museum explores how Japan’s history of cultural exchange with the rest of Asia has impacted the formation of its culture. To that end, we engage in the collection, preservation, exhibition, and research of cultural properties, in addition to providing educational outreach to the local community.
松花堂昭乗の生涯や関連資料が展示されている。園内には彼が住んでいた草庵「松花堂」が移築されている。所在地は京都府八幡市。
External Links
松花堂昭乗に関する作品や資料を調べることができる。
京都府八幡の歴史についての探究と共有を目指す「八幡の歴史を探究する会」によるサイト。会員による研究発表の中には松花堂昭乗に関する記事も多数収録されている。
References
- 至文堂 編,国立文化財機構 監修,ぎょうせい
- 山口恭子 著,思文閣出版
- 小松茂美 著,講談社
- 波多野幸彦著,思文閣出版,波多野, 幸彦||ハタノ, ユキヒコ <AU00252325>
- 「松花堂昭乗」の項
- 「松花堂昭乗」の項
- 「松花堂昭乗」の項