Description
The two Zen eccentrics Kanzan (Ch. Hanshan [Hanshan]) and Jittoku (Ch. Shide [Shih Te]) are shown on the lower edge of this tsuba. Kanzan sits reading his scroll and laughing. Jittoku stands behind Kanzan, pointing the sky. In his left hand can be seen the handle of his broom. They were said to have lived in a monastery in China when they spoke to each other in a language no one understood. Depictions of them are common. The seals on the reverse identify the artist, who was probably a Buddhist monk by the time he made this piece.
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