[Hyogo, Minami Awaji] Experience Zen meditation and viewing the Nanga paintings of Gyokusei Jikihara at a Zen temple associated with the master of Nanga painting who grew up on Awaji Island.

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• Naohara Gyokusei, a master of Nanga painting who grew up on Awaji Island, is a Rinzai Obaku sect monk who rebuilt Kokusei Zenji Temple. This experience includes a beginner-friendly zazen experience and viewing his personal Nanga paintings. After the approximately 60-minute zazen experience, listen to the current abbot explain the Zen teachings embodied in Gyokusei's works over tea. Then, move to the Minami Awaji City Takikawa Memorial Museum of Art Gyokuseikan (a 5-minute walk) to view the museum's diverse collection of Naohara Gyokusei's works. This special experience expresses the trinity of Nanga painting, haiku, and Zen, truly capturing the spirit of "kuga zen ichijo" (poetry, painting, and Zen as one), and allowing you to reflect on yourself. Naohara Gyokusei, a master of Nanga painting with ties to Awaji Island, was a painter and haiku poet, and a Rinzai Obaku sect monk. He became the abbot of Kokusei-an (later renamed Kokusei Zenji), the dilapidated Zen temple where he grew up on Awaji Island. At Kokusei Zenji Temple, which was beautifully rebuilt by Gyokusei, you'll begin with a beginner-friendly zazen experience (approximately 60 minutes). Afterward, you'll listen to the current head priest explain the Zen teachings embodied in Gyokusei's works over tea, and then view Gyokusei's intimate artworks, housed in the temple's storehouse. You'll be able to view rare sliding door paintings and other artworks up close and without any partitions. Next, you'll move to the Takikawa Memorial Museum of Art Gyokuseikan (approximately a 5-minute, 200-meter walk), where many of Gyokusei's paintings are on display, and finally view the museum's masterpieces. This special experience allows you to reflect on yourself through the spirit of "kuga zen ichinyo," which expresses the trinity of Nanga, haiku, and Zen, beloved by Naohara Gyokusei.
• [Naohara Gyokusei]
• He spent his childhood in Sumoto. At age 16, he moved to Osaka to pursue a career as a painter, studying under Tomita Keisen and Yano Hashimura, among others, and was frequently selected for the Teiten and Nitten exhibitions. In 1960, he participated in the founding of the Japan Nanga Academy, an incorporated association, and led the Japanese Nanga world as its president from 1991 until his death in 2005. He was fond of haiku from his youth, and at age 17, he was selected for a special selection in the haiku magazine "Dojin," edited by Aoki Getto. After the war, he became acquainted with poets of the Hototogisu school, including Takahama Kyoshi and Yamaguchi Seishi, and composed many haiku as a member of the magazine. His encounter with Shibayama Zenkei, the abbot of the Rinzai sect of Zen, led him to the path of Zen. He became a monk and, in 1980, restored the Obanashu Kokusei Zenji Temple in Minami-Awaji City as a Zen priest.
• [Southern painting]
• Southern school painting, based on ink painting, was introduced to Japan during the Yuan and Ming dynasties in China. It flourished during the Edo period, creating a uniquely Japanese world of painting that eventually came to be known as Nanga. [Kokusei Zenji Temple] Also known as Kokusei Temple, it is the only Obaku Zen temple in Awaji, founded by the monk Shozan in the mid-Edo period. Around the time of the 23rd head priest, the chaos of the postwar era led to the abandonment of farmland due to reforms such as farmland reform, making the temple unmanageable and allowing it to fall into disrepair. At that time, painter Gyokusei Naohara, a Zen Buddhist monk and Southern painter who embraced the spirit of "kuga zen ichinyo," saw the Zen temple on Awaji Island, to which he had a connection, on the verge of collapse and resolved to rebuild it. Starting with the restoration of the main hall in 1980, the temple has since renovated the temple grounds, including the kuri (restaurant's quarters), Chinese-style mountain gate, cave gate, Seitankan teahouse Soken, Kaisan-do (founder's hall), Tsukimi-tei (moon viewing pavilion), Kuga-zen-tei (peonies), and more. Peonies, the symbol of wealth, are grown in the gardens, giving the temple a style that surpasses that of the past.
• ●Peonies: A peony festival is held every spring and winter. Enjoy a moment of Zen meditation surrounded by colorful peonies. For more information, please contact the Kokuseiji Temple Office (tel. 0799-37-3781). [Admission Fee] 400 yen (free for junior high school students and younger). ●Dharma: We offer prayers for the fulfillment of your dreams. Inspired by the indomitable spirit of Master Bodhidharma, we pray for your success through setting goals (wishes), working hard, and achieving them. Master Bodhidharma, the inspiration for Bodhidharma, was born as the third prince of the kingdom of Xiangzhi in India. He later became a monk and traveled to China as the 28th successor to the Buddha, where he spread Buddhism. His teachings were passed down to Zen Master Huike, who later brought them to Japan and are now known worldwide. In Zen Buddhism, he is revered as the founder, Bodhidharma, but his indomitable spirit, which saw him fall down and get up again and face the wall for nine years, is well-known across all sects.