Connecticut. New York Graphic Society Ltd. 1971. First edition. Hardcover, with pictorial dust jacket. Book condition: Fine, some shelf wear and foxing. Jacket condition: Fine. 191pp. (ill. in b/w)

Gibbon Sengai (1750-1837) was one of the great Japanese Zen masters of the old school. As a young man he entered a monastery, submitting himself to traditional Zen calligraphy and ink drawing. His Zen is full of deep humour, remote from all caricature, alluding in a subtle and delicate manner to faults and errors, showing the way to freedom from anxiety and care. This book contains his explanatory notes and texts to 127 scrolls selected by himself, and makes possible to look at authentic Zengas together with an explanation of the historical and spiritual background of the works.