田邊栖鳳たなべ　せいほう

特選

廓然無礙

作家のことば

　印文は碧巌録に見る廓然無聖から派生したと言われる禅語です。無字を粗画の体にし、白文印にすることで朱の美しさを表出できればと考えました。無聖ではなく無礙としたのも礙字の密集性が全体の粗密対比を高めてくれるものと期待してのことです。篆書が無理なく方形に置かれている風情を心がけて刻しました。

The inscription is a Zen phrase said to have derived from *Kakunen Musho* (Emptiness/No Sages) found in the *Hekiganroku* (Blue Cliff Record). I used a sparse stroke style for the character "無" (*mu*) and made it a white character seal (*hakubun*) with the thought that it would express the beauty of the red background. I chose "無礙" (*Muge*, Unhindered) instead of "無聖" with the expectation that the density of the character "礙" would enhance the contrast between dense and sparse overall. I carved it with attention to the feeling that the seal script characters are naturally placed within the square format.