Nakahara Nantenbō
(1839-1925)

Daruma

Vertical hanging scroll painted in ink on paper, 203 x 44,4 cm

Provenance: Italian private collection.
Born in Karatsu into a samurai family, Nantembō took religious vows at the age of seven, joining a monastery of the Zen Rinsai sect. It seems he was gifted with an unusual energy, which he used to educate his students and paint.
The inscription at the top reads as follows:

“There is nothing to seek and nothing to find.
You are already enlightened and all the words in the world will not give you what you already have.
The sage, therefore, seeks only one thing:
become aware of what he or she already is, of the true inner self."