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  • Six Persimmons (1270) : Mu Ch'i's Persimmons

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    The document describes Mu Ch'i's famous sumi painting from 1270 titled "Six Persimmons". It hangs in the Ryoko-in temple in Kyoto. The painting is considered a perfect representation of emptiness through form alone, depicting six persimmons still on the twig as they are sold in markets. The author owns a copy of this painting that they hang every fall. They then describe eating fresh persimmons from a local orchard in the same manner as the painted ones, finding the painting and fruit alike cure hunger.

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    Persimmons

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    The document describes Mu Ch'i's famous sumi painting from 1270 titled "Six Persimmons". It hangs in the Ryoko-in temple in Kyoto. The painting is considered a perfect representation of emptiness through form alone, depicting six persimmons still on the twig as they are sold in markets. The author owns a copy of this painting that they hang every fall. They then describe eating fresh persimmons from a local orchard in the same manner as the painted ones, finding the painting and fruit alike cure hunger.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
    60 views3 pages

    Six Persimmons (1270) : Mu Ch'i's Persimmons

    Uploaded by

    api-6333406
    The document describes Mu Ch'i's famous sumi painting from 1270 titled "Six Persimmons". It hangs in the Ryoko-in temple in Kyoto. The painting is considered a perfect representation of emptiness through form alone, depicting six persimmons still on the twig as they are sold in markets. The author owns a copy of this painting that they hang every fall. They then describe eating fresh persimmons from a local orchard in the same manner as the painted ones, finding the painting and fruit alike cure hunger.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
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    Six
Persimmons
(1270)


    by
Mu
Ch'i
(1200‐1274),
Ryoko‐in,
Daitoku‐ji,
Kyoto


    Mu
Ch'i's
Persimmons


    by
Gary
Snyder



    There
is
no
remedy
for
satisfying
hunger
other
than
a
painted
rice
cake.


    —Dōgen,
November,
1242.


    On
a
back
wall
down
the
hall


    lit
by
a
side
glass
door


    is
the
scroll
of
Mu
Ch'i's
great


    sumi
painting,
"Persimmons"


    The
wind‐weights
hanging
from
the


    axles
hold
it
still.

    


    The
best
in
the
world,
I
say,


    of
persimmons.


    Perfect
statement
of
emptiness


    no
other
than
form


    the
twig
and
the
stalk
still
on,


    the
way
they
sell
them
in
the


    market
even
now.


    The
original's
in
Kyoto
at
a


    lovely
Rinzai
temple
where
they


    show
it
once
a
year


    
this
one's
a
perfect
copy
from
Benrido


    I
chose
the
mounting
elements
myself


    with
the
advice
of
the
mounter


    I
hang
it
every
fall.


    And
now,
to
these
overripe
persimmons


    from
Mike
and
Barbara's
orchard.


    Napkin
in
hand,


    I
bend
over
the
sink


    suck
the
sweet
orange
goop


    that's
how
I
like
it


    gripping
a
little
twig


    

    those
painted
persimmons


    sure
cure
hunger


    New
Yorker,
October
20,
2008.


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