Zen painting by Nantenbo Nakahara (1839-1925).
"Shakujo stick (Khakkhara stick), it is a monk's staff used especially by Buddhist mendicant as a tool for begging"
Signed and sealed
Size of paper: 31.8 cm X 145 cm
Size of mounting: 43 cm X 195 cm
Note: Nantenbo was a son of  a Samurai family of Hizen Province.  As a young man, he entered the Yuko-ji temple of the Rinzai sect of Zen, and later studied under the Zen master Sekio of the Enpuku-ji temple in Kyoto.  In his later years, when he succeeded the priest Razan of the Bairin-ji temple in Kurume, Kyushu, he did not advance into an administrative position, but rather wandered the country, visiting various temples.  Keen in intellect, he was also known for his charity and became one of the most famous figures of the modern Rinzai sect.  The Meiji period General Nogi is known to have practiced Zazen under his guidance.