Sonsai

Kimura Kenkadō, also known as Sonsai, was a Japanese painter, scholar and major art collector active in the Edo period, from 1736 to 1802. His artistic name, Sonsai, links him to the nanga school, in which he became known as a landscape painter. Beyond his painting, he is significant for the breadth of his interests and for his influence on the cultural life of his time.

Born into a family of sake merchants, he initially followed the family trade, but after being convicted of producing alcohol in excess he was obliged to work in the stationery business. As a young man he was trained in painting by Ōoka Shunboku and Yanagisawa Kien, and he also studied the natural sciences with Tsushima Tsunenoshin and Ono Ranzan. After retiring to Ise, he devoted himself to collecting objets d'art and to painting, earning a reputation as a capable landscape artist.

His collection was highly respected, and after his death the Japanese government bought it for the considerable sum of 500 ryō. He was also a devotee of the tea ceremony, which he studied under Baisao, and he is credited with a large share of the codification of utensils and procedures for the sencha ceremony.