Bokuseki

views updated

Bokuseki (Jap., ‘marks of ink’). Zen Buddhist calligraphy. The purpose is not aesthetic, but to express Zen experience. The words executed are usually those of the Zen masters (hōgo), but the text may be simply one letter or one word. Outstanding practitioners were Muso Soseki, Ikkyu Sōjun, Hakuin Zenji, and more recently Yamamoto Gempō.

More From encyclopedia.com