A letter from Daxiu-Zhengnian (1215-89). Daxiu-Zhengnian was a Rinzai sect monk. In 1269, he came to Japan at the invitation of Hojo Tokimune, the eighth regent of the Kamakura shogunate. After entering Zenkoji Temple in Kamakura, he became the abbot of Kenchoji Temple. He subsequently served at Jufukuji Temple and Engakuji Temple, before founding Jochiji Temple. This letter was addressed to an acquaintance who had begun his Buddhist journey. It quotes a famous passage from the Diamond Sutra, speaks of the impermanence of all things, and mentions Daxiu’s own visual impairment, suggesting it was written in his later years, revealing his feelings of old age. It is 14 lines in total.

Kogetsu Sogan, a monk at Daitokuji Temple in the early Edo period, left behind a collection of calligraphy works by famous monks in Song and Yuan dynasty called “Bokuseki no Utsushi” (Copies of Calligraphy Works), in which he copied the calligraphy works he had seen over a period of approximately 33 years, from 1611 to 1643, and recorded information on their owners, mountings, measurements, authenticity, and provenance. This work was included in this collection with the age of 1621.

Publications
*Birankan, Tokiwayama Bunko, 1954 (see commentary by Honan Tayama)
*Hibai Yoko – Selected Catalogue from the Tokiwayama Bunko, The Tokiwayama Foundation, 1967 (see commentary by Hisao Sugahara)
*Treasures of Tokiwayama Bunko Foundation – Selected Masterpieces: Calligraphy and Ink Paintings, Tokiwayama Bunko Foundation,2003 (see commentary by Noriko Takahashi)
*Selected Masterpieces from the Treasures of Tokiwayama Bunko Foundation – Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of Tokiwayama Bunko Foundation, Tokiwayama Bunko Foundation,2023 (see commentary by Chizuko Emi)