Artists

Takeda Ekishū

Takeda Ekishū (竹田益州, 1896–1989) stood at the head of the Kennin-ji lineage of Rinzai Zen for 35 years. His preferred character was nin – patience.

Published on: Oct 3, 2025

Calligraphy by Takeda Ekishū: the character for snow in bold ink. — Calligraphy with the character for snow – Takeda Ekishū (竹田益州), Kennin-ji (detail)

In a nutshell

Takeda Ekishū (竹田益州) was a Japanese Zen monk of the Rinzai school and calligrapher (1896–1989). He was born in Bungo-Takeda in Ōita Prefecture. From 1945 to 1980 he headed the meditation hall of Kennin-ji in Kyōto, and from 1954 he stood as Kanchō at the head of the Kennin-ji lineage – an office he held for 35 years until his death. In 1964 he led the ceremonies marking the 750th anniversary of the death of the temple's founder, Eisai. The artist name 益州 is read Ekishū; in the art trade the form Masuyoshi is also encountered.

Takeda Ekishū (竹田益州): 35 Years at the Head of Kennin-ji

Takeda Ekishū (竹田益州, 1896–1989) was a Japanese Zen monk of the Rinzai school and a calligrapher. He was born in Bungo-Takeda in Ōita Prefecture. From 1945 to 1980 he led the meditation hall of Kennin-ji in Kyōto and was thus responsible for the training of the monks; from 1954 he stood as Kanchō at the head of the Kennin-ji lineage – an office he held until his death in 1989, that is, for 35 years.

On the Reading: Ekishū, Not Masuyoshi

The characters 益州 are read Ekishū. In object descriptions one also encounters the form Masuyoshi, which is based on the Japanese readings of the individual characters. Both refer to the same calligrapher.

Kennin-ji

Kennin-ji is the oldest Zen monastery in Kyōto, founded in 1202 by Eisai, who brought Rinzai Zen and, at the same time, tea cultivation to Japan. In 1964 Ekishū led the ceremonies marking the 750th anniversary of the founder's death; in 1981 he led a Japanese-Chinese friendship delegation to China. His book on Eisai and Kennin-ji was published in 1981, a collection of his writings in 1983.

The Character Nin: Patience as Practice

Ekishū had a particular fondness for writing the character 忍 – nin, patience or endurance. It surpassed, so his teaching held, even precepts and asceticism. Such single-character calligraphies confront the writer with the hardest of tasks: there is no context to absorb anything, the character stands alone on the surface. The stroke must carry from beginning to end, pressure and tempo are immediately legible, and the point at which the ink runs out becomes part of the statement. The character for snow also belongs to these singly rendered scripts, which in the tokonoma name the season just as much as they name a state of mind.