Michael Hofmann (sumi-e)

Oakland, California Studied (Buddhist Sculpture) with Ratna Kaji Sakya, Kathmandu, Nepal 1970-71 33 Year Apprenticeship to Sumi Painter, Abbot Jikihara Gyokusei (1972-2005) While completing his degree in Asian Studies with a focus on eastern religions, Hofmann met Zen priest and calligrapher Shibayama Zenkei Roshi (1894-1974), Abbot of the Nanzen-ji Temple.

The Abbot inspired him to visit the East and Hofmann soon embarked on an overland voyage through central Asia to Nepal, stopping in Kathmandu for five months where he studied Buddhist sculpture.

After returning to the U.S. Hofmann worked as a museum guard in San Francisco to earn money for his passage to Japan where Shibayama Zenkei introduced him to his friend, painting master and poet Jikihara Gyokusei.

[3] He periodically left Japan to travel through villages and cities in Asia, Latin America, and Europe, capturing what he saw with brush and ink.

Toward the end of Jikihara’s life, Hofmann worked with him on large murals, often painting areas toward the top that his elderly teacher could no longer reach.