Indura

Dialogue with the Xiao Kings,By Yin Tuoluo (Indara),Inscribed by Chushi Fanqi,Yuan Dynasty

Work on paper
〔image only〕34.2×45.3 cm
〔overall〕120.0×56.3 cm
Kohitsu Ryo'on certificate of authenticity
Kohitsu Ryoen certificate of authenticity
Ryoi certificate of authenticity (folded)

Yin Tuoluo (Indara) was an artist-monk active in the mid-to-late Yuan
Dynasty.
Details of his life are unknown, but he is referred to as Bonsō (“the
Indian monk”) in records such as the Kundai kansōchōki. The current
work is inscribed by Chushi Fanqi (1296-1370), who is said to have been
mainly active among the network of Chan (J: Zen) monks in Jiangnan.
The figures in the painting are rendered in the so-called “apparition
painting” (wanglianghua) technique, which was established in the
Southern Song Dynasty, and are given a sort of “dry smile” that is an
immediately recognizable characteristic. Considered the most important
works by the artist are the five Detached Segments of the Deeds of the
Zen Masters, which are registered as National Treasures, and the current
work appears to be part of the same group.
It depicts the Tang Dynasty Chan monk Yangshan Huiji (804-890) in
conversation with the brothers Xiao Danfen and Xiao Long (Qilang).
The Xiao brothers are in fact the two dragon deities of Fuhuimao, who
are enshrined and worshiped as mountain gods on Yangshan (in modernday
Yichun City, Jiangxi Province). This painting shows the particulars
of when Huiji prepared an offering of food to commemorate the death of
his former teacher, Guishan Lingyou (771-853), at Yichuntai when he
reached Yangshan.
As Huiji was the founder of the Guiyang school, one of the five sects of
Chan Buddhism in China this is considered an image of one of the Chan
patriarchs, and of the five works registered as National Treasures in terms
of both subject and style, it is close to Priest Zhichang (Seikadō Bunko
Art Museum, Tokyo), and Tanka Burning Buddhist Statues (Artizon
Museum, Tokyo).
Kanrakuan formerly owned and included appraisals by Kohitsu Ryōon
(1674-1725), Ryōen (1704-1782), and a certificate of authenticity by
Ryōi (1751-1834).
(To be published in Kokka, no.1549, November 2024)