White Dragon

“Please lie down and look up.”

There was a sign inviting visitors to do just that.

To lie down on tatami mats to see a temple ceiling painting.

I had never looked at a dragon that way before.

Seirai-in is a sub-temple within the Kennin-ji temple grounds in Kyoto.

Look up at the ceiling of the hōjō, and an enormous painting called White Dragon spreads overhead.

At first, it seemed as though there were only one.

But looking back at the photographs later, there were two.

Both are white dragons, yet their faces are different.

Move slightly after looking at one, and the other begins to appear.

Seen not while standing, but with the body resting on the tatami and the eyes turned toward the ceiling, the two dragons almost seem to be moving through the space above.

The White Dragon is not an ancient painting that has been preserved at Seirai-in for centuries.

It is a contemporary work by Chinese visual artist Chen Man.

As Seirai-in prepares to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the death of its founding Zen master, Lanxi Daolong, in 2028, restoration and renewal projects have been undertaken throughout the temple, including work on its buildings and gardens.

As part of this project, Chen Man created the immense White Dragon in Shanghai—a ceiling painting spanning an area equivalent to 54 tatami mats.

Lanxi Daolong was a Zen monk who traveled from Southern Song China to Japan.

He arrived in 1246 and later became the founding abbot of Kenchō-ji in Kamakura. He also served as abbot of Kennin-ji.

And now, nearly 750 years later, two dragons painted by a contemporary Chinese artist have come to inhabit the ceiling of the Kyoto temple that carries his name and legacy.

Seen this way, White Dragon begins to feel like more than a new ceiling painting.

A Zen monk who crossed the sea from Southern Song China to Japan.

A temple in Kyoto that carries his legacy.

And centuries later, two white dragons painted in China, making their way to the ceiling of that temple.

Across countries and across centuries, something seems to have found its way back.

A new layer of time can also be found in Seirai-in’s garden.

On the south side of the hōjō lies Gabijōun, a dry landscape garden incorporating massive stones brought from Mount Emei in Sichuan Province, China.

The landscape was created with a connection to the homeland of Lanxi Daolong.

Lying once again on the tatami, I looked up.

Two white dragons were there.

Nearly 750 years ago, a Zen monk traveled from China to Japan.

Today, dragons painted in China look down from the ceiling of the Kyoto temple that carries his legacy.

In Kyoto’s temples, there are moments when people and places.

Looking up at the white dragons of Seirai-in, that was what came to mind.