MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY), SIGNED TOKOKU, SEALED BAIRYU

The semi-historical monk, Bodhidharma, known in Japan as Daruma, was said to have traveled to China from India sometime in the AD 5th or 6th century. He was the first patriarch of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China, and while there is some evidence for his historical existence, much of what is known of his life is based on later sources. The inscription on reverse side of this sculpture is a variation on a couplet attributed to Daruma. The couplet has been translated by Stephen Addiss, The Art of Zen: Paintings and Calligraphy by Japanese Monks, 1600–1925 (1989), p. 192.
Ikka goyo wo hiraku A single flower opens to five petals
kekka jinen ni naru And bears fruit according to its own nature