Dragon
Gettan Dōchō月潭道澄 (1635-1713)
Japan, Edo Period (1615-1868)
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
115 x 26.3 cm; 194 x 28 cm (mounted)
Collection of Stuart Katz
龍一聲聴得春雷震大悲甘霖滴萬方
The dragon’s roar brings spring lightning and shakes the universe.
Then the rain of mercy falls everywhere.
—trans. Yamaguchi Masao
Gettan Dōchō, a life-long Japanese disciple of Ingen, composed a lengthy prose-poem in
ca.1694 comparing the chanoyu tea ceremony for powdered green tea whisked in bowls
(matcha), and the more recent drinking of sencha (steeped green leaf tea served in tiny tea
cups) introduced by Ōbaku monks. He is celebrated as the first person to articulate the
differences between the two traditions. The paulownia box housing the work is inscribed by
Murase Genmyo (1913-1988), 57th abbot of Manpukuji.