Help identifying figure

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Adamantine
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Help identifying figure

Post by Adamantine »

Hi there, I was given this small antique carved and lacquered
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? :anjali:

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
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

Adamantine wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 4:29 amthe 2nd and last chinese character isn't contemporary
That’s a really beautiful statue.

The 2nd & last characters are not traditional Chinese either. The typed characters from your friend suggested are not quite right for them (for example, the 2nd character starts with 宀 rather than 艹)but I can’t find them in any of my books either. My first thought was that it may be Dogen.
EMPTIFUL.
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PeterC
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by PeterC »

The second character from the left may have been partially obliterated. From the context a better guess might be 善 rather than 菩, giving 行善院, which sounds more like the name of an institution. Though honestly it doesn't really look like either 善 or 菩, but you'd need to consult a list of Japanese 异体字 to be sure.

Running with that, I had a look to see if there was a 行善院 in Japan, I couldn't find one, but there is a 行善寺 in Tokyo, founded late 16th century. Just speculation, though.

了心日定 seems pretty straightforward, but for the last character, it probably can't be 霧 unless it's also an alternative form as there isn't space for the brushstrokes under the 雨 to have been erased. In case anyone wants to do more guessing, perhaps start here: https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&rad=173
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Adamantine
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by Adamantine »

Thank you both. After reviewing some variations on calligraphic simplified ways to write the character for “thunderbolt” I think it’s possible the last character could
be that. This is just one example but I’ve seen some handwritten ones that look closer to the sample.
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

Adamantine wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 8:03 pm Thank you both. After reviewing some variations on calligraphic simplified ways to write the character for “thunderbolt” I think it’s possible the last character could be that.
That was very helpful, I think:

Seiganbo Shinjo ( 1215 -?) was a priest in Echizen Provinceduring the Kamakura period . He is the founder of Toyohara-ji Enpuku -in Temple . In 1268 , he authored "Juho Yojinshu" and called the doctrine of an unknown sect of esoteric Buddhism ( "his law" group), which was prevalent at the time, "Nari (naraku)."

Enpuku-in still exists today as a temple of the Chisan School of Shingon Buddhism .

Source (in Japanese)
https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BF%83%E5%AE%9A
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by Kim O'Hara »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 10:02 pm
Adamantine wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 8:03 pm Thank you both. After reviewing some variations on calligraphic simplified ways to write the character for “thunderbolt” I think it’s possible the last character could be that.
That was very helpful, I think:

Seiganbo Shinjo ( 1215 -?) was a priest in Echizen Provinceduring the Kamakura period . He is the founder of Toyohara-ji Enpuku -in Temple . In 1268 , he authored "Juho Yojinshu" and called the doctrine of an unknown sect of esoteric Buddhism ( "his law" group), which was prevalent at the time, "Nari (naraku)."

Enpuku-in still exists today as a temple of the Chisan School of Shingon Buddhism .

Source (in Japanese)
https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BF%83%E5%AE%9A
Interesting, since my first reaction (can't call it 'thought') on seeing the OP was "Why 'Zen"? Why not Shingon?"
But I don't know much at all about Buddhism in Japan, although I love the iconography, and I had nothing rational to back up or explain that reaction so I didn't say anything. My best guess is that my reaction might have been based on subconscious recognition of stylistic cues. :shrug:

:namaste:
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dawn of peace
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by dawn of peace »

Adamantine wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 4:29 am Hi there, I was given this small antique carved and lacquered
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? :anjali:
 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.

i think it should read from right to left rather than left to right.
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

dawn of peace wrote: Thu Dec 29, 2022 6:22 am i think it should read from right to left rather than left to right.
Oh you are brilliant.
雳定日心了院行 = Hikisada Shinryoin Bodhi
*maybe wrong character
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dawn of peace
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by dawn of peace »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Thu Dec 29, 2022 11:40 am
dawn of peace wrote: Thu Dec 29, 2022 6:22 am i think it should read from right to left rather than left to right.
Oh you are brilliant.
雳定日心了院行 = Hikisada Shinryoin Bodhi
*maybe wrong character
i think it should be 善行, not 菩行.
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Adamantine
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by Adamantine »

Thank you everyone, once again.
Since I don’t speak or read the language, I’m not sure how you got to
Seiganbo Shinjo, PadmaVonSamba, could you walk me through that?
Personally, I have to rely on
translation programs. Entering the text in reverse doesn’t seem to translate at all in these programs other than as names. In which case perhaps this text is simply that.
Entering all the variations of characters we’ve discussed here in the original left to right sequence yield some interesting combinations and meanings, at least according to the programs. It causes me to wonder if the text could be a koan, or a motivational slogan, or either one in relation to a certain monastic institution. Here’s some different program’s versions of each rendition:

行善院了心日定雳

Be sure of making concerted efforts

Xing Shan Yuan took a heart-to-day bolt

The house of good deeds is determined day by day


行善院了心日定霧

do good in the house and fix the fog

Doing good in the courtyard of the heart day fixed fog


行菩院了心日定霧

The mind of the bodhisattva is determined

The practice of the Bodhisattva Institute has set the mind on a daily basis

Xingbu Courtyard, the heart is set in the fog on the day


行菩院了心日定雳

Xingbu Courtyard, the heart is set.

Practicing Bodhisattva's Mindfulness Daybreak

Walking to the Bodhisattva

The bodhisattva institute is determined

Xing Bodhisattva's Heart Day Bolt
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jmlee369
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by jmlee369 »

I believe the correct reading is 行善院了心日定霛

This article contains a eulogy by the founder of Nipponzan-Myōhōji, 日達 (Nichidatsu) for a 行善院日財上人 (Nichizai Shonin of Gyōzenin) who passed in 1939.

My guess for the statue: 行善院 is a Nichiren institution and the person depicted is 了心日定 (Ryoshin Nichijou), this being a standard two-part Buddhist master name as is common in East Asian tradition (do-go 道号 + ho-go 法号). There is in fact a 行善院 in Saitama that is affiliated with Shoshinkai, a dissident Nichiren Shoshu group, but the building and plot looks quite modern.

霛 is a rare variant of 霊 (in Japanese, 靈 in Chinese) meaning spirit. At least in Korean tradition deceased masters are referred to as 覺靈, awakened spirits, during their memorial rites so I'm assuming the same applies here.
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Adamantine
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by Adamantine »

jmlee369 wrote: Sun Jan 01, 2023 11:29 am

My guess for the statue: 行善院 is a Nichiren institution and the person depicted is 了心日定 (Ryoshin Nichijou), this being a standard two-part Buddhist master name as is common in East Asian tradition (do-go 道号 + ho-go 法号). There is in fact a 行善院 in Saitama that is affiliated with Shoshinkai, a dissident Nichiren Shoshu group, but the building and plot looks quite modern.
Thank you for this analysis. One doubt I have though is that looking at all existing images of statues of Nichiren leaders or monks that I could find, they appear to be sitting in lotus, when seated. This small statue of mine the figure is clearly kneeling in seiza style which I assumed was generally associated with Zazen sitting. Which is why I always presumed it was a Zen monk. Are you aware of Nichiren practitioners sitting in this style, or at least in formal portrayals?

Edit: I did find this old thread on sitting seiza style in Nichiren although it seems it may be a more recent development…

https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?t=21696
Last edited by Adamantine on Sun Jan 01, 2023 9:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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jmlee369
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by jmlee369 »

Adamantine wrote: Sun Jan 01, 2023 8:59 pm Thank you for this analysis. One doubt I have though is that looking at all existing images of statues of Nichiren leaders or monks that I could find, they appear to be sitting in lotus, when seated. This small statue of mine the figure is clearly kneeling, which is generally associated with Zazen sitting. Which is why I always assumed it was a Zen monk. Are you aware of Nichiren practitioners ever sitting in this style?
I don't know about statuary but it's a common sitting posture in Japan, in both formal and informal settings. Just to show by example of Nichiren Shoshu people, here is an informal setting and here they are reciting the Lotus Sutra
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Adamantine
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by Adamantine »

jmlee369 wrote: Sun Jan 01, 2023 9:29 pm
Adamantine wrote: Sun Jan 01, 2023 8:59 pm Thank you for this analysis. One doubt I have though is that looking at all existing images of statues of Nichiren leaders or monks that I could find, they appear to be sitting in lotus, when seated. This small statue of mine the figure is clearly kneeling, which is generally associated with Zazen sitting. Which is why I always assumed it was a Zen monk. Are you aware of Nichiren practitioners ever sitting in this style?
I don't know about statuary but it's a common sitting posture in Japan, in both formal and informal settings. Just to show by example of Nichiren Shoshu people, here is an informal setting and here they are reciting the Lotus Sutra
Yes I just edited my post after a bit more research! And yeah I guess the question would be if there are other examples of Nichiren leaders portrayed in seiza sitting style. And even if not, that doesn’t rule out this merely being an unusual example.
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Re: Help identifying figure

Post by narhwal90 »

Seiza was certainly the default in Nichiren Shoshu (and later SGI) for the recent past (eg 30+ years), though more recently everyone tends to use chairs. Many of the old-school crowd still sit seiza on the floor though :twothumbsup:

I'm looking through my Nichiren Mandala books for references to Ryoshin Nichijou, nothing found so far- perhaps too far in the past. Saitama has as number of temples for N.Shoshu as well. If the inscription suggest a particular temple the figure is associated with I could at least look that up, relate some of its history.

The Zen folks I hang around with sit in lotus or use seiza benches (or suitably arranged cushions) as per circumstances. One of my soto sanga-mates makes and decorates seiza benches for newcomer members.
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