Page 214 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

123 Dragons and clouds father was a retainer for Asai Nagamasa sonal allusions include the plum blossoms
pair of six-fold screens, ink on paper (1545-1573), the last great daimyo of the of early spring and distant snowy moun-
Kaihó Yüshó (1533-1615) Asai family. As a child Yüshó was sent to tains. Such close juxtaposition of different
each 149.5 x 337.5 (587/8 x 1324/5) live at Tófukuji, an important Zen temple seasons was commonly found in landscape
Momoyama period, in Kyoto. He later became a lay priest and paintings. Yüshó created patterns by con-
late loth-early iyth century served the abbot of the temple. Yüshó's trasting areas of dark and light with gener-
talent as a painter was recognized by the ous ink washes. The high level of skill and
Kitano Tenmangü, Kyoto priests at Tófukuji, who encouraged him sense of unity in this work suggest that it is
Important Cultural Property to study the painting of Kano Motonobu a later work by Yüshó. MR
In East Asian art, dragons often appear as (1476-1559). Later Yüshó turned to the
protectors of Buddhism or as rain deities. works of Chinese monochrome ink paint- 125 Pine and hawk
In this painting, however, the dragon is a ers of the Song and Yuan dynasties, partic- Kano Tan'yü (1602-1674)
symbol of heroic kingship, embodying the ularly that of Liang Kai (fl. c. 1195-^ 1224). set of four sliding doors; ink, color, and
spirit of the Momoyama period. In con- After mastering the techniques of mono- gold leaf on paper
trast to Chinese dragon paintings, these chrome ink painting he began also to paint each 207.0 x 159.5 (8^/2 x 623/4)
dragons are a trifle antic as well as awe- in the highly colored, lavish Momoyama Edo period, 1626
some. decorative style, and eventually achieved
Typically in East Asia, the dragon was an interesting synthesis of various styles. Kyoto City
paired with the tiger as cosmological sym- Among his patrons were Toyotomi Hide- Important Cultural Property
bols of East and West, water and metal, re- yoshi (1537-1598) and Emperor Go-Yozei This set of four sliding doors is from the
spectively. On a pair of paintings in (1571-1617). His most famous paintings are Fourth Chamber of the building that con-
Daitokuji by the Song painterMuqi is the large-scale works at Kenninji and the tains the Ohiroma (Audience Room) of the
the inscription, When the dragon rises, screens at Myóshinji.
clouds appear and When the tiger roars, Yüshó's residency at Tófukuji was for- Ninomaru Palace precinct at Kyoto's Nijó
about
Castle. The interior measures
wind blasts. In the Daitokuji paintings the tuitous, not just for the opportunity to twenty-one feet wide, forty feet long, and
dragon coaxing the rain from the clouds study painting, but because he was not re-
and the tiger calling forth the wind form a quired to participate in the fighting be- thirteen and a half feet high. The chamber
was used as the guards' quarters, next to
metaphor for the enlightened emperor tween the Asai clan and Oda Nobunaga, the audience room proper, the most for-
seeking an equally enlightened minister. which led to Nagamasa's suicide at Odani
Kaihó Yüshó also executed a pair of Castle in 1573, following his defeat. mal room of Nijó Castle, and is thus also
no ma (Chamber
known as Yari
the
of
paintings with the dragon and tiger, This work follows the compositional Lances). It is enclosed by sliding doors,
though he more often depicted a pair of conventions of Muromachi-period screen intercolumnar wall panels, and friezes
dragons, as seen here. MS paintings, characterized by the concentra-
tion of the foreground mass at the far sides above, all gold-leafed and decorated with
of the screens. The center is an open ex- paintings of massive pine trees and hawks.
124 Landscape of the Four Seasons panse of water and mist. The painting is The four panels shown here, with a design
Kaihó Yüshó (1533-1615) Yüshó's interpretation of scenes from the of a monumental pine tree and a hawk in
pair of eight-fold screens, ink and famous Chinese poetic theme, Eight front of a waterfall, were installed at the
color on paper Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. This south end of the chamber, facing north.
each iii.o x 368.0 (44^2 x 147 v^) combination of poetic themes with sea- Nijó Castle was begun in 1601 and
Momoyama period, early ryth century sonal allusions was a popular device in Jap- completed in 1603. It was originally built as
Sekai Kyúseikyó (MOA Art Museum), anese screen painting. Two scenes from the garrison quarters for Tokugawa leyasu
Shizuoka Prefecture the Eight Views are the Mountain Market (1543-1616), the first Tokugawa shogun,
who used it during his residency in Kyoto.
Important Cultural Property scene on the left screen, and the Wild
Geese Descending onto a Sandbar, faintly After leyasu's death in 1616 the buildings
Kaihó Yüshó was born in Omi Province visible to the left of the right screen. Sea- went through several rebuilding and refur-
(present-day Shiga Prefecture), where his bishing phases, the most notable being a

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