Kakemono "Zui-un" (auspicious clouds) - Zen Calligraphy

This impressive kakemono presents, with powerful, lively brushstrokes, the Zen calligraphy "瑞雲" (Zui-un), which means "auspicious clouds." In East Asia such clouds were regarded as a heavenly sign of an imminent happy event; in Zen the word stands for blessing and good fortune.

The expressive brushwork of Sato Bokudo impressively conveys the rising and spreading of these blessed clouds. The dynamic, almost dance-like rendering of the characters lets them drift across the sky, as it were. The wooden box is inscribed by the artist himself (tomobako): the lid bears the title 瑞雲 and the signature 前大徳 朴堂 (Bokudō, former abbot of Daitoku-ji).

Painted on high-quality paper and complemented by elegant wooden jikusaki, this kakemono is not only a special ornament for living or meditation spaces, but at the same time a profound and daily impulse for inner reflection. An authentic work of Japanese Zen culture that enriches spaces through its meaning and aesthetics and keeps alive the wish for good fortune and blessing.