Black robe, white mistArt of the Japanese Buddhist nun Rengetsu
8 September 2007 – 27 January 2008 Otagaki Rengetsu & Tomioka
Tessai 'In this world' hanging scroll [kakemono] 1867
calligraphy, painting Collection of the National Gallery of
Australia more detail Clad in black robe, I should have no
attraction to the shapes and scents of this world but how can I
keep the precept of detachment gazing at today’s crimson maple
leaves? (trans. John Stevens) Black robe white mist: art of the
Japanese Buddhist nun Rengetsu displays ceramics, scroll
paintings and poem sheets created by Otagaki Rengetsu
(1791–1875) and her close collaborators. Rengetsu, whose name
evocatively translates as Lotus Moon, was a Japanese Buddhist
nun. Her life was one of great suffering and unusual creativity
largely borne out of necessity. One of the few successful female
artists of her time, Rengetsu was most famous for her poetry and
distinctive calligraphy, and also produced delicate scroll
paintings and rustic ceramics. Black robe whit