Image: Hosomi Museum, Kyoto
The Hosomi Museum in Kyoto will present a major exhibition of calligraphy by the Zen monk Ryokan, including the representative work ‘Tako moji: Tenjo taifu’ (‘Kite Characters: A Great Wind from Heaven’), which is due to return to public view after 46 years. The exhibition, titled ‘Special Exhibition: Ryokan—The Person and Zen—’, will run from September 12 through November 8, 2026.
The presentation will mark the first showing in the Kansai region of ‘Tako moji: Tenjo taifu’, according to the museum’s announcement. The work is described as one of Ryokan’s representative pieces and is known for its distinctive “kite character” format. It will be shown alongside ‘Choka: Tsuki no usagi’ (‘Long Poem: The Moon Rabbit’) and other works by the artist.
Ryokan was born in 1758 in Izumozaki, in present-day Niigata Prefecture, as the eldest son of the headman of the village. Although he came from a prominent local family, he entered religious life and maintained an austere existence. The museum describes him as a Zen monk who lived alone in a hermitage while also spending time with children and exchanging poems and songs with friends.
His surviving writings include Chinese poetry and Japanese waka verse, but his calligraphy occupies a particularly important place in his artistic legacy. Hosomi Museum characterizes the work as highly artistic and original, to the extent that Ryokan’s calligraphy has been called “the pinnacle of Japanese calligraphic beauty.” The exhibition will bring together a group of works intended to foreground that dimension of his practice as well as his identity as a monk.
The exhibition is part of the Hosomi Museum’s 2026 programme in Kyoto. The museum’s website lists the Ryokan exhibition as its next special exhibition and identifies the venue as the Hosomi Museum. Its public programme also includes a paid, advance-registration lecture titled ‘The Calligraphy of Ryokan, the Zen Monk of the Fields’; the available listing does not provide a confirmed date. The museum has not supplied further event or visitor details in the announcement material.
Ryokan lived from 1758 to 1831. The Hosomi Museum’s scheduled presentation of his calligraphy will continue through November 8, 2026.
