statue of what I assume is a Japanese Zen master.
I can’t read myself the writing on the back but a Japanese
friend helped attempt a translation. It seems like it could
be naming a specific temple. I hope someone here might be
able to assist in identifying the temple, the figure, or both.
Does anyone have any ideas or insights?
My friend wrote:
as far as I can decode, it says 行菩院了心日定霧 the 2nd and last chinese character isn't contemporary( in japanese) so I'm guessing but I'm pretty sure this is what's written.
As for meaning, it could be a name of a high rank monk, or a one-line sentence. the 3rd letter is often used as 'temples' so 行菩院 could be the name of the temple.
individual meaning of the characters
are
行- Doing
菩-bodhisattva
院-temple
了-finish/ completion /understanding
心-heart
日-day/sun
定-decided /settle
霧-mist/ fog