Kikei Kubo, a son of Kouzui Kubo, is the chief priest of the Kouryuu-ji Temple, the “Bekkaku-honzan” (special head temple) of the Mt. Kouya Shingon Sect. He is also well known as a calligrapher.

This is a calligraphic painting by Kikei Kubo. In this work, the Chinese character for “one” was written. As a matter of fact, this character represents a snake as well.

Snakes have been long worshiped as gods around the world since ancient times, of course in Japan as well. In this painting, the snake is climbing Mt. Fuji, which is the highest mountain in Japan. This combination of the snake and Mt. Fuji is unique and very interesting.

The Chinese character for “one” has other meanings of “first,” “start” or “No.1”; this character was written, praying for them.

Snakes move only forward, so the calligraphy with meaning of “go ahead” was written on the upper right of the screen. This implies that you will be successful and the very best. The depiction of the sun represents the Japanese flag. This is a great work which is full of many meanings.