While Zen – a school of Buddhism which emphasises the attainment of wisdom through practice and experience, particularly as realised through meditation – arrived in Japan from the end of the fourteenth century, Zenga was established some 200 years later, at the beginning of the Edo period in 1600.  Frequently associated with Tea ceremony and martial arts, zenga is noted for its use of simple brush strokes to create pieces that are characteristically bold and abstract.  The subject is frequently expressed simultaneously as both an image and as calligraphy.  Traditionally, the calligraphy used denotes a poem or saying that teaches an element of Zen philosophy and the true path to enlightenment.

Artist and philosopher Ichigai Kanamori has been practising his unique style of zenga for many years.  Born in Osaka in 1941, he began his artistic career with brush ink art and calligraphy, drawing inspiration from ancient Zen Buddhist poetry and teachings.  Kanamori works from his studio in Niigata, on the Japan Sea coast, where he established Gallery Kanzan (“Cold Mountain”) in 1991.

He opened his first exhibition in Shinjuku, Tokyo, in 1986; in the years since, he has held many exhibitions throughout Japan and overseas, including New Zealand in 2002.  This will be his first major exhibition in Australia.

Kanamori has also published a number of books, including Ichigai’s Ink Brush Portfolio (1989), a collection of his paintings, and Hotei no Fukuro (1995), a collection of haiku, philosophy and ink paintings.  He has also provided artistic design to the play Hana no Sho (2004).  His interests extend beyond Zen Buddhism and philosophy: as an avid fan of classical music, Kanamori has also released a series of artworks dedicated to the prolific eighteenth century composer Mozart.

Kanamori says of his art, “the reason I started drawing was to visually express Zen philosophies.  What motivated me the most was my admiration for the way a drawing sympathises with poetry and calligraphy on one piece of paper.  I felt that traditional Zen art had fallen victim to tradition and lost some of its spiritual message.  To put Zen back on front stage I have used contrasts of thick and thin brush strokes, adding gold and silver colours, radically departing from the more delicate style of Buddhist paintings in the traditional Southern School of art in China.”

Approximately fifty pieces of Kanamori’s Zen-inspired work will be on display at the Japan Foundation Gallery during the two-week exhibition.  More of Kanamori’s paintings will be displayed at Books Kinokuniya in Sydney from 2–15 January.  There is also a permanent display for viewing at the Zen Art Gallery in Chatswood.

More information and examples of Kanamori’s work can be seen on his website (in Japanese):  www.ichigai.com.