Kano and Tosa Art Schools

Kanō Masanobu (1434 –1530) is generally considered the founder of the Kanō school of painting (Kanō-ha). Although not a Zen adherent, Masanobu was closely associated with influential Zen temples and adopted the ink wash style. Taking advantage of the close relationship between the Zen monks and the Ashikaga shoguns, Masanobu and his followers secured and maintained the highly lucrative favor of the Ashikaga during the Muromachi Period.

 The Kanō school became one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting and was the dominant style of painting from the late 15th century until the Meiji period which began in 1868. The Kanō family itself produced a string of major artists over several generations, to which large numbers of unrelated artists trained in workshops of the school can be added. Some artists married into the family and changed their names, and others were adopted.

The other famous art school of the times was the Tosa school. It was founded in the early Muromachi Period, and was devoted to yamato-e, paintings specializing in subject matter and techniques derived from ancient Japanese art, as opposed to schools influenced by Chinese art. In general, the Tosa style is characterized by rather flat, decorative compositions, fine line work, great attention to detail, and brilliant color.

Masanobu’s son, Kanō Motonobu (1476–1559) is credited with creating the Kanō school’s distinctive techniques and styles – firmer lines and stronger outlines to paintings using Chinese conventions. Motonobu married the daughter of Tosa Mitsunobu, the head of the Tosa school.

The most famous of the Kanō family was Eitoku (1543–1590), Motonobu’s grandson. He built the screen for Nobunaga at Azuchi. He is believed to have been the first to use a gold-leaf background in large paintings. He appears to have been the main figure in developing the new castle style. Unfortunately, few works exist today that can be solely attributed to him alone. Some of the most famous examples of Kanō school castle decoration are found at Nijō Castle.

At Jukō-in a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji there are paintings on room partitions in the abbot’s quarters (hōjō shōhekiga) that are attributable to Kanō Eitoku and his father Kanō Shōei. They are (a) Birds and flowers of the four seasons (shihon bokuga kachōzu), (b) Four Accomplishment or Four elegant pastimes: Music, Go, Calligraphy and Painting (shihon bokuga tansai kinki shogazu), (c) Eight Views of Xiaoxiang (shihon bokuga shōshō hakkeizu), (d) shihon bokuga chikko yūenzu. Overall there are 38 paintings on fusuma.

Another important painter associated with the Kanō school was Hasegawa Tōhaku (1539 –1610). He is considered one of the great painters of the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573-1603), and he is best known for his byōbu (folding screens), such as Pine Trees and Pine Tree and Flowering Plants, or the paintings in walls and sliding doors at Chishaku-in. While working at the Kanō school, he decided to return to the minimalism of Sesshū Tōyō. His wall and screen paintings produced for Shogun Hideyoshi are at Chishaku-in in Kyoto.

The Kanō school that predominated from the Momoyama Period (1573-1603) continued until the end of the Edo Period. It was known for its gilded partition paintings of rich landscapes, flowers, birds and trees, reflecting Chinese influence. The school’s clients were mainly the nobility, shoguns, and emperors. Its ability to align with the politically powerful was a key to its survival, aside from its great artists. Over the years, Kanō artists did work for the Ashikaga shogunate, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Tokugawa shogunate. The decision of Kanō Naganobu (1577-1654) to move his line of the Kanō school to follow Tokugawa Ieyasu to Edo probably kept the tradition going for another two hundred years. Naganobu officially served the Tokugawa shogunate under the title goyō eshi, the shogun’s painter-in-residence.

The greatest Kanō painter of the Edo Period was Kanō Tan’yu (1602–1674), who was named the shogun’s painter-in-residence at the age of fifteen. He decorated many of the most important castles, including Nagoya Castle and Nijo Castle in Kyoto and painted a series of scrolls depicting Tokugawa Ieyasu. His ink monochrome works were more restrained than those of the Momoyama era.  He also had access to important art collections.

Other famous Kanō painters include Kanō Michinobu, who created light-hearted jovial works and Kanō Osanobu (1796-1846), who painted traditional subjects.

Through the school’s association with the shogunate, it was assured success while the shogunate did well. However, that success also led to its decline. The school eventually became locked into a formalism that stifled creativity and innovation. Its members were family who inherited their positions. As part of their long training, Kanō artists practiced copying masterpieces many times over. Eventually it became known for making copies of old styles. The Kanō school came to be looks upon as a conservatory of old art styles and was overshadowed by other artists, who were new and exciting. Furthermore, as the fortunes of their patrons declined, so did that of the school.

Like the Kanō school, the Tosa school (Tosa-ha) was founded in the Muromachi Period. It was devoted to yamato–e, paintings specializing in subject matter and techniques derived from Japan as opposed to China. Their paintings were of flat opaque color enclosed by simple outlines; its drawing was precise and conventional. The school held the position of head of the Imperial painting bureau (edokoro-azukari) for many years. Some of the artists of Tosa-ha like Sumiyoshi Jokei (1599–1670) and his son Gukei Sumiyoshi (1631–1705) revitalized the original tradition of small narrative scrolls with emphasis on details of everyday life. Toward the end of the Edo period, the Tosa painters simply imitated Mitsuoki, the school’s last great painter, and did not develop anything new.

The Tosa and the Kanō artists eventually broadened their range and their styles began to blend. The interest in everyday life by the Tosa school influenced painters in the ukiyo-e genre paintings.

Genre painting depicts ordinary people doing ordinary things. These paintings were usually on folding screens and scrolls with dozens of people. Early genre paintings usually depicted lots of people partying, working, or playing outside. As the art form developed the number of figures was reduced, their activities were toned down, and the figures were brought inside. Late genre painting focused on single subjects, often a beautiful woman standing alone in a bathhouse or room. Genre paintings could also be humorous like Sengai Gibon’s artwork of a smiling frog in meditation or like Kuniyoshi’s images of tattooed warriors fighting giant spiders and snakes

The Kanō school was the longest lived and most influential school of painting in Japanese history, more than 300 years, which is unique in world art history. The Tosa school was also long-lived. Their artists attracted numerous patrons from the most affluent social classes by developing, mastering, and promoting a broad range of painting styles, pictorial themes, and formats. Several of their paintings are in the official List of National Treasures of Japan.