Sengai: The Konishi Collection

Sengai Gibon (1750–1837) was a Zen monk who served as head priest of Shofuku-ji Temple, the oldest-established Zen Buddhist temple in Japan. He was fondly referred to by his contemporaries as “Sengai-san of Hakata” because he communicated the teachings of Zen to the people using easy-to-understand paintings and calligraphy. His local popularity resulted in the formation of many excellent Sengai collections assembled by intellectuals and business people based in Fukuoka and Hakata. The artwork collected by Mr. Konishi Tomojiro, who ran a security business in Fukuoka City, are one of those collections, and were gifted to the museum by his son Mr. Konishi Shoichi in 2016. This exhibition in celebration of the donation presents the entire Konishi Collection, which has never been introduced to the public as a whole before, for the first time. The most notable feature of the 55-piece Konishi Collection is its breadth. Works in the collection range from Sengai’s early meticulous and solemn Zen paintings to his charming renditions of animals from later in his career. They also include everyday items such as tea utensils and stationeries, which convey the passion of the collector whose love for Sengai drove them to wanting to know all about him. We hope you discover a new charm of Sengai-san of Hakata through this exhibition.