Kaihō Yūshō : Biography, Important Cultural Property status, Gallery Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kaihō Yūshō

Japanese painter (1533–1615)

Kaihō, Yūshō Shōeki
Painting of Daruma by Kaihō Yūshō
Born	1533
Died	1615
Nationality	Japanese

Patron(s)	Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Emperor Go-Yōzei

Kaihō Yūshō (海北友松, 1533–1615); real name: Kaiho Shōeki, "brush name": Yusho (alternative names: Josetsusai, Yūkeisai, Yūtoku), was a Japanese painter of the Azuchi–Momoyama period.^[1] He was born in Ōmi province, the fifth son of Kaihō Tsunachika, who was a vassal of Azai Nagamasa.

Biography

Born into a military family, he became a page at the Tōfuku-ji (temple) when he moved to Kyōto^[1] and, later a lay priest. He served there under the abbot and associated with the leading Zen priests of Kyōto. In his forties, Yūshō turned to painting and became a pupil in the Kanō School, either under the famous Kanō Motonobu or his grandson Kanō Eitoku.^[2] Then, he worked at Jurakudai, under the patronage of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Emperor Go-Yōzei.

At first, he patterned his work after Song painter Liang Kai, doing only monochrome ink paintings, using a "reduced brush stroke" (gempitsu), relying more on ink washes than sharp hard strokes. Later, he worked in fashionable rich colors and gold leaf. Artistically on a level with Hasegawa Tōhaku and Kanō Eitoku, he gave his name Kaihō to the style of painting he and his followers practiced.^[3]

He acquired fame during his lifetime and his patrons included Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the emperor Go-Yōzei.^[1]

As of the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition of 1975, most of the artist's extant works were ink paintings produced during his late sixties for the Zen temple Kennin-ji in Kyoto.^[4]

Important Cultural Property status

Several of Yūshō's works have been designated as Registered Important Cultural Property. Among these are the following:^[5]

Landscape, 1599. Two hanging scrolls, ink on paper. Located in Kennin-ji, Kyoto, Japan
Plum and pine, around 1599. Four sliding doors, ink on paper. Located in Zenkyō-an (Kennin-ji), Kyoto, Japan (See detail in "Oiseaux sur une branche de pin" in gallery below.)
The four accomplishments, late 16th century. Pair of six-fold screens, ink and light color on paper. Located in Reitō-in (Kennin-ji), Kyoto, Japan

Gallery

Flowers by Kaiho Yusho
Kaihô Yûshô - Pine and Plum by Moonlight - Google Art Project
L'un des sept sages (1533-1615) par le peintre japonais Kaihō Yūshō
Oiseaux sur une branche de pin (1533-1615) par le peintre japonais Kaihō Yūshō
Kaihô Yûshô - Pine and Plum by Moonlight - Google Art Project (399082)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kaihō Yūshō.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Kaihō Yūshō | Japanese Ukiyo-e, Edo Period, Woodblock Prints | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
^ [unnamed] (1975). Momoyama: Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur (exhibition catalogue). New York, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 39. ISBN 0-87099-125-6.
^ Roberts, Laurance P. (1976). A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill. p. 207.
^ [unnamed] (1975). Momoyama: Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur (exhibition catalogue). New York, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 5. ISBN 0-87099-125-6.
^ [unnamed] (1975). Momoyama: Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur (exhibition catalogue). New York, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 33–39. ISBN 0-87099-125-6.

External links

Momoyama, Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Kaihō Yūshō
Bridge of dreams: the Mary Griggs Burke collection of Japanese art, a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Kaihō Yūshō (see index)