Clouds and Moon - Premium T-Shirt

This Zen calligraphy T-shirt carries five characters brushed in the 14th century by Sekishitsu Zenkyū (1293-1389), the monk who founded Heirin-ji: "The clouds break, and the moon comes to the pond." It's a whole night scene in five characters. The clouds move off and, without anyone doing anything, the moon is simply there on the water.

The design

The original is a tall, narrow hanging scroll, ink on paper, written in a single column and still kept at Heirin-ji, the temple Sekishitsu founded. We have added our Kokin Denju seal, which is hiding a bit behind the calligraphy – our own little moon in hiding.

In Zen writing, the moon reflected in water is a familiar image for the mind that is already clear once its clouds pass. The moon doesn't have to be fetched, and the pond doesn't have to try. Read that way, the line is a quiet note about sitting: You don't make the moon appear, you wait for the weather to change. This is bokuseki – literally "ink traces," the calligraphy of Zen monks, valued as a direct record of the writer's mind. We have reproduced the brushwork faithfully for this T-shirt.

The artist

Sekishitsu Zenkyū was a Rinzai Zen monk of the Nanbokuchō period. In 1375 he became the founding abbot of Heirin-ji in Musashi Province. The temple later moved to Niiza near Tokyo and is still an active Rinzai monastery. Scholars describe his calligraphy as austere and restrained. He lived to 96.

Why you'll love it

• A daily reminder that clarity comes when the clouds pass, not when you force it
• A faithful reproduction of a 14th-century scroll from the Heirin-ji temple collection
• A tall, calm column of ink that pairs easily with jeans, a jacket or a dōjō bag
• A thoughtful gift for meditators, calligraphy lovers and anyone who stays up for the moon