Research
These research projects often begin with very limited or ambiguous information. Through sustained looking, close visual analysis, and contextual study, they can develop into unexpectedly rich historical narratives.
Reference Texts
-
![]()
Hakuin Ekaku: The Hidden Messages of Zen Art Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2012–2013 Click the link below to read the opening exhibition essay.
-
![]()
Itō Jakuchū: Jakuchū’s Painting Practice and Environment. Kano Hiroyuki, Shikōsha, 1993
-
![]()
Zen Paintings of Hakuin, Tanaka Akira 1983
-
![]()
Reading the Paintings of Zen Master Hakuin: Their Iconology and Truth-Claims). Kyoto: Zen Culture Research Institute, Hanazono University, 1985
-
![]()
New List Item
-
![]()
Zenga: The Return from America — Zenga from the Gitter-Yelen Collection. Kyoto: The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 1985.
-
![]()
Instruction for beginners by Zen Master Hakuin, Vol. 2. printed in Edo 1750's. From the collections of Tokugawa Munenao (1682–1757) and later Hirayama
-
![]()
Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin By Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769) Translated by Norman Waddell 1999
Below are links to reference materials and websites that have been particularly important to my research and have helped inform the work presented here. Alongside these are a small number of related sources whose presence reflects a shared approach — places of knowledge, experience, and continuity that, in different ways, resonate with the spirit of the collection.
I gratefully acknowledge Gábor Terebess and his remarkable Terebess Asia Online archive for the resources that have greatly informed my research, and for his generous replies to my questions and kind encouragement.
Selected Bibliography and Reference Materials
The following books and resources have informed the study, interpretation, and contextual framing of works within the Ki-no-an Collection. They reflect a combination of long-term personal reference, comparative research, and institutional scholarship.
Printed Books and Physical Publications
Zen Painting and Calligraphy
Hakuin Zenga Bokuseki (3 volumes), Hanazono University / International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism
The Ink Painting Series: Hon’ami Kōetsu and Tawaraya Sōtatsu
Publications on Zen painting (zenga) and calligraphy from Japanese academic and museum presses
Japanese Painting and Art History
Selected monographs and exhibition catalogues on Sesshū Tōyō
Studies on the Kanō school and workshop practice
Publications on Itō Jakuchū and Edo-period individualist painters
Ukiyo-e and Edo Visual Culture
Yoshitoshi: Genius of Ukiyo-e Master in Turbulent Times
Selected exhibition catalogues and survey texts on late Edo and Meiji print culture
Japan, Kyoto, and Material Culture
Hidden Japan
Another Kyoto
Online Museum and Collection Databases
The following institutional collections are used for comparative study, visual reference, and confirmation of stylistic and material parallels:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Collection Database
The British Museum – Collection Database
Yale University Art Gallery – Collection Database
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – Japanese Art Collection
Minneapolis Institute of Art – Collection Database
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive – Collection Database
MOA Museum of Art, Atami – Collection Highlights
Academic and Research Institutions
International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism, Hanazono University (Kyoto)
Notes on Use
Printed materials are consulted as primary reference works and long-term study resources.
Online databases are used for visual comparison, attribution context, and cross-referencing of related works held in public collections.
This bibliography reflects an evolving research process and will continue to expand as new materials are consulted.