(Left) Sengai "Shigetsu Hotei Gaisan" Edo era. (Right) Sengai "Sokaku Gaisan" Edo era. The first and last of his 1,000 Sengai collection. Sengai was only popular within the region, but the Idemitsu collection had brought about nation-wide recognition.

Idemitsu Museum
of Arts 2

Text Yoko Yamamoto

Started and ended with Sengai

Idemitsu's encounter with the Zen painting, "Shigetsu Hotei Gaisan" by a Zen monk Sengai led him to art collecting. His father's love for art gave him many opportunities to be exposed to art, but he later mentioned, "It was love at first sight". At first he was attracted to the heartwarming painting, but gradually realized it was more than that. Hotei (Budai) is pointing at an undrawn moon. An orb represents Buddhahood. Idemitsu started to think that the painting was trying to tell him not to be preoccupied with urgent matters. His sense of art tuition acquired through Sengai led Idemitsu to his art collecting.