Shūhan Genpō (1848-1922)
Ensō Circle
A very delicate, thin ensō painting from the brush of the 468th Daitoku-ji temple's head monk Shūhan Genpō 宗般玄芳 (1848-1922) who is often misleadingly named Sohan Genpō in English
transcriptions. Shūhan Genpō has been 468th head monk of Japan's most famous Zen temple Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. He might be better known by his Zen master name Shōun 松雲, which means 'Pine Cloud'
with which he often signed his works like this one. As a leading disciple of famous Nakahara Nantenbō (1839-1925), Shūhan Genpō was a skilled calligrapher and painter who created many
Zenga.
This ensō may have influenced the work by Jiro Yoshihara (1905-1972), one of the leading figures of the Japanese post-war movement Gutai, who painted also thin ensō in oil on
canvas.
Literature:
Art Gallery of New South Wales: Zen Mind, Zen Brush. Japanese Ink Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection, 2006, p. 120.