Sesshū Tōyō (1420-1506) was a Zen monk and Japanese painter of the Muromachi period, a central figure in suibokuga, or ink painting. He was born in Bitchū province into a samurai family of the Oda clan. He is regarded as one of the great masters of Japanese painting, and his importance lies in how he took Chinese models and reshaped them into a distinctly personal style.
He entered a temple as a young man, which was then the usual route to a literary and artistic education. He became a Zen monk in 1431 at Hōfuku-ji and later moved to Shōkoku-ji in Kyoto, where he learned painting from the monk Tenshō Shūbun. In this period he imitated the techniques of Song dynasty landscape painters such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui. Around 1454 he settled in Suo province under the patronage of the daimyō Ōuchi Norihiro and founded the Unkokuan studio there. Towards the end of the 1460s he travelled to Ming China, where he studied the work of professional painters and the real landscape, and where he reportedly painted a mural in the imperial palace in Beijing. On his return in 1469 he replaced the empty space of Zen painting with mountains, trees, rivers, temples and figures.
His best-known work is the Long Landscape Scroll (sansui chōkan), about 15 metres long, which moves through the four seasons. In it he sharpened the contrast between light and shadow and used heavier lines and a flatter sense of space than his Chinese models. Another major work is Huike Offering His Arm to Bodhidharma (1496), designated a National Treasure of Japan in 2004. View of Amanohashidate, painted shortly before his death, uses a realistic bird's-eye viewpoint that breaks with Chinese tradition. Only a few works can be attributed to him with certainty, and six are recognised as National Treasures. His paintings are held at the Tokyo National Museum, the Freer Gallery in Washington and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
His legacy was broad. His followers formed the Unkoku-rin school, and Soga Rasoku later founded the Soga school. In the Edo period the Kanō school admired him as a master, and many daimyō commissioned works, which turned his reputation into something close to a legend. He is believed to have died in 1506, although the exact date, 8 August, is not fully confirmed.
Works (3)
Painted in ink on paper in 1496 by Sesshū Tōyō, the work shows Huike offering his arm to Bodhidharma, a figure associated with Zen Buddhism. Bodhidharma sits in zazen, seated meditation. It belongs to the sumi-e tradition of ink painting built on spare, economical brushstrokes, and is held by the Kyoto National Museum.
Where to see the work
- Kyoto National Museum Kyoto · 2
- Tokyo National Museum Tokyo · 1
Teachers and pupils
Studied with
- Tenshō Shūbun 1414–1463
Curiosities
An adopted name
According to the sources, Sesshū obtained the two characters of his name from an inscription linked to a Chinese master and asked the monk Ryūgan Shinkei to write them out. It is believed that he began using the name around 1465. His alias was therefore not just an artistic pseudonym but a gesture of connection to Zen tradition and to the Chinese painting he so admired.
A name others used
Many works carry Sesshū's signature, name or seal, but only a few can be attributed to him with certainty. Many are copies or the work of his pupils. Even painters such as Hasegawa Tōhaku used his name for artistic reasons. For this reason, when looking at a signature on a screen or a scroll, specialists must compare the style before assigning authorship.
From painter to near-mythic figure
Sesshū's reputation grew markedly in the Edo period. The Kanō school, which dominated painting at the time, admired him as a master, and several daimyō commissioned his works. Since then the number of paintings labelled Sesshū saku has risen quickly. Works with themes such as the Gion Matsuri were even interpreted in his manner, a sign of a popularity that made him one of Japan's great historical figures.