MOKUAN REIEN

born 13th century, ?, Japan died 1343?, China Zen Buddhist priest, one of the first Japanese artists to work in the Chinese monochromatic ink style. Originally a priest in a Japanese temple, Mokuan went to China about 1333, and, while making a pilgrimage to major temples, did paintings of flowers, birds, and human figures in the manner of Mu-ch'i Fu-ch'ang, the great Ch'an (Zen) painter of 13th-century China. Mokuan was honoured both in China, where he was called the reincarnation of Mu-ch'i, and in Japan, where his paintings were collected by the shoguns (military dictators) Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Among existing paintings believed to be originals by Mokuan, the best authenticated is a portrait of Hotei, the god of fortune.