雲うん水すい

noun

itinerant priest; wandering monk; mendicant

Only with reading うんすい

Specifically refers to a Zen monk who travels from temple to temple, often on a pilgrimage or seeking teaching. The term evokes the image of drifting clouds and flowing water.

• 彼かれは若わかい頃ころ、雲うん水すいとして日本にほん中じゅうを旅たびした。

  In his youth, he traveled all over Japan as an itinerant priest.

noun

clouds and water

Literal meaning of the kanji; used in poetic or descriptive contexts. The reading くもみず is rare and archaic.

• 山さん水すい画がには雲うん水すいの表ひょう現げんが欠かかせない。

  In landscape painting, the depiction of clouds and water is essential.