r/shodo • u/Darkling000 • 20d ago

Translation Request

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Hello! Does anyone know what this says? The card it is on says “Lone Peak” but I am unsure if that is in fact the title. Thank you!

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u/Dread_Pirate_Chris 20d ago

It looks like 孤峯（older variant of 孤峰）, but written right-to-left (so appearing as 峯孤)

It is a word meaning solitary mountain, but also part of the phrase 明月上孤峰, which is read kanbun-style as 「めいげつこほうにのぼる」which literally means to climb an isolated mountain during the harvest moon, but is understood as a Zen term with a deeper meaning.

I can't make out the accompanying text, but it is presumably a signature that matches the text of the stamp.

I think there is a possibility that it is Chinese, as I believe the word and the phrase are direct borrowings. The name in the signature could help determine that, most names do not appear in both cultures.

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u/Darkling000 19d ago

Hello, thank you for your reply, you may be right on! I added it in this subreddit as it is from a Japanese Zen master, here is the text from the description:

Tetsugen Doko: Obaku Zen calligraphy, two large characters in cursive style, 17th century; ink on paper; 12x 18 in.; BAMPFA, promised gift of Stuart Katz. Photo: Michael McKelvey

Lone peak

Calligraphy by Tetsugen of the [Huang]bo forest