Japanese Antique Zen Scroll Painting from Matsumoto Castle

DescriptionJapanese antique scroll painting of a monk reading a scroll. Seated on a lotus on a fudog. The central figure is encircled with the names of 73 monks separated with 4 seal script characters (the one at lower left is: 貞 Tei (or Jō) (Firm adherence to principles). Around the figure in the outer ring portion of the ring are 3 sections of text. At the top, in seal script, read right to left: 清浄大海衆 Shōjō Daikaishū which translates literally as “Pure, Great Oceanic Assembly”, this is a term used to refer to the monastic community associated with Sōtō Zen. The same term appears in the line at the left side of the circle. At the right side is location information: 萬久, maybe Mankyū. The location above that is given as: 南閻浮提大日本国信濃_筑摩郡松本城 Matumoto Castle, Tsukama (or Chikuma) District, Shinano (Province?), Great Nation of Japan, Nan’enbudai (Jambudvīpa). “Nan’enbudai” is a name for Jambudvīpa, placing Japan on a continent to the south of Mount Meru (Sumeru) in the present realm in Buddhist cosmology. At the left side, also read top to bottom, mentions the monks’ community (Shōjō Daikaishū) again, “living harmoniously” in the summer of the Year of the Water Dragon. There is a reserve below the fudog bearing the signature and seal of 6 monks along with their prefect position at the Zen temple. From right to left they read: 法幢師 Hōdōshi (Dharma flag teacher): 白梁 Hakuryō 首座 Shuso (Head seat): 哲悟 Tetsugo 維那 Ino (Hall manager): 祖門 Somon 副寺 Fūsu (Treasurer): 雷峰 Raihō 知客 Shika (Guest manager): 童運 Dōun 寮主 Ryōsu (Hall supervisor): 泰岩 TaiganWriting on the back of the scroll states: 信州松本城萬久 Mankyū(?), Matsumoto-jō (=Matsumoto Castle), Shinshū. Shinshū is another name for Shinano, the area around what is now Nagano Prefecture. In the line to the left, the last two characters look like: 菩薩 Bosatsu Bodhisattva.Painted in ink and light mineral colors on silk.Age: Edo Period (1603-1868)Dimensions: Scroll: 47″ high x 17 1/2″ wide. Art: 25 3/4″ high x 11 3/4″ wide.