A refined vintage Japanese shikishi (色紙) print featuring a commemorative verse titled 「實道和尚遺詠」, meaning “The Last Poem Left by Jitsudō Oshō”, rendered in calligraphy by Kobayashi Taigen (小林太玄), a Rinzai Zen monk associated with Daitoku-ji (大徳寺) in Kyoto.
The poem reads: “Until today, I gave little thought to my age but the mirror reveals it in the wrinkles of my face.”
The verse is quietly humorous and deeply human. Rather than treating old age with drama or sadness, it observes it with calm acceptance: one may not feel old inwardly, yet the mirror gently reminds us that time has passed. That understated awareness is very much in keeping with a Zen sensibility—to see things as they are, without resistance or self-deception.
Here, the subject is not death itself, but the subtle realization of impermanence (無常 / mujō) through something as ordinary as seeing one’s own wrinkles in a mirror.
Kobayashi Taigen is a Japanese Rinzai Zen monk and calligrapher connected with the Daitoku-ji tradition in Kyoto. His calligraphy is known for combining disciplined brushwork with the spontaneity and simplicity associated with Zen aesthetics.
