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千曲市の桑原地区、善光寺街道の宿場の面影が残っている町に開眼寺というお寺さんがあります。立派な座禅道がありますので、私が時々朝５時座禅しに行っています。今朝は息子たちを連れて、久しぶりに行きましたが、座禅が終わって、お寺の本堂に入ったら、驚きました:壁に2.1x2.7メーターの雲龍図が展示してありました。

鎌倉の建長寺の創建７５０周年の為に書かれた雲龍図の下図です。日本の最も傑出した美術家、小泉淳作さんの作品です。しばらくの間はこの開眼寺の公開されています。こんな珍しい絵を見る機会はなかなかないので、是非、行ってみてください。

開眼寺は戸倉上山田温泉・亀清旅館から車で約１５分です。私と一緒に朝五時座禅のついでにでもいかがでしょうか？

In Chikuma City's Kuwabara district, along the old Zenkoji Kaido road that still has some resemblance of its time as a waystation on the old road to the big Zenkoji in Nagano City, is Kaigan-ji Temple. Kaigan-ji has a zazen room, and every once in a while I go there for 5am Zazen meditation. This morning, I took both of our sons. After the meditation, we went inside the temple's main building, and were startled to see a huge 2.1 x 2.7 meter painting of a dragon on the wall.

It turns out Kaigan-ji is presenting a special display of one of the test paintings for the even larger one made for Kenchou-ji Temple in Kamakura in celebration of the 750th anniversary of that temple's founding. This 'Unryu-zu' (dragon ceiling painting) was made by Mr. Koizumi Junsaku, Japan's premier painter of unryu-zu.

According to the explanatory literature, Kenchou-ji is like the grand-daddy of Buddhist temples in Eastern Japan. It is on par with the major Kyoto temples of Daitoku-ji, Myoshin-ji, Toufuku-ji, Shokoku-ji and Nanzen-ji. All of those temples have 'unryu-zu' paintings of dragons on the ceilings. Kenchou-ji never had one, so in honor of its 750th birthday the temple called on Koizumi-san.

Koizumi-san went to Kyoto and made the rounds to study the dragon paintings there. The one that most impressed him was Daitoku-ji's. While the others were painted directly on to the ceiling panels, Daitoku-ji's was a watercolor drawn on paper using sumi ink. The finished painting was then applied to the ceiling.

For Kenchou-ji's unryu-zu painting, Koizumi-san decided to use that technique. But first, he had to make a 'shoshita-zu' test version to get the scale and balance right. The painting on display here at Kaigan-ji is that shosita-zu. Despite being a 'test', it is a masterpiece in and of its own right, with a size that is nothing but impressive. You can get the full effect of the dragon's strength and vitality as it seems to jump right out of the painting towards you.

Kaigan-ji's display of Koizumi-san's work is a unique chance to see a painting of this magnitude so close. The temple is a short 15 minute drive from Kamesei. Perhaps we could go and see it together the next time we go for 5am zazen.

開眼寺で展示してある雲龍図

千曲川の上の赤い空

"Red Sky at Night, Sailors Delight;
Red Sky in Morning, Sailors Take Warning"

英語のことわざ。日の入りに空が赤くなったら、海員が喜ぶ;日の出に空が赤くなったら海員が注意を払う。つまり、夕方の赤空でしたら、安定した天気が続き、朝方の赤空でしたら、天気が崩れるという意味。

今朝、起きて外を見たら、空が日の出で綺麗に光れていました。千曲川の方へ散歩してみた。こんなに綺麗でした。

しかし、諺通り、少したったら雨が降ってきました。結局、雨の一日になりました。長野県はないですが、海員のことわざが効きますね。

When I woke up this morning and looked outside, I was treated to a beautiful red sky as the sunrise was colorfully lighting up the clouds.

However, soon afterwards, it started to rain. Today ended up being a cold, rainy day. Those sailors sure knew their weather symbols -- it's amazing their saying works even here in ocean-less Nagano.