Page 80 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

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master, and showed it to me. I composed 13 Asakura Toshikage cellent archer and horseman, he was also
an inscription for this portrait: hanging scroll; ink and color on silk something of a scholar, poet, and patron of
81.5x44.0(32x173/8) the arts, as well as a pious Buddhist. He
His appearance is peaceful; his forehead Muromachi period, i5th century was acquainted with the Zen priest Ikkyu
contains jewels inside and donated wood at Ikkyu's request for
In a scholar's hat and a priest's robe, he sits Shingetsuji, Fukui Prefecture the rebuilding of Daitokuji. Toshikage be-
solemnly with legs crossed Important Cultural Property came a priest in his later years under the
His letters are richly written; his religious Buddhist name Eirin Soyu.
mind is refreshing Asakura Toshikage (1428-1481) was a pow- Toshikage is shown here seated on a
Though his appearance can be beheld, his erful daimyo of the mid-Muromachi pe- raised tatami mat, wearing a warrior's
erudition is unfathomable riod. During the Onin War (1467-1477), he robe, a hôi (priest's robe), and a kesa (Zen
His brush flows beautifully, whether in ousted Shiba Yoshitake as shugo (consta- priest's stole), indicative of both his secular
Japanese or Chinese poetry ble) of Echizen Province (present-day Fu- and his religious aspirations. He holds a
A diplomatic envoy to the emperor, in old kui Prefecture), routed all challengers, chùkei (a type of folding fan) in his right
temples and guest halls and, based in Ichijôdani, laid a firm foun- hand and prayer beads in his left. The
His clear voice reverberates; he receives great dation for the fortune of the Asakura fam- pose is formal and generic, but the fea-
imperial favor ily. The principles of his ruthless but tures are specific and individualized and
After journeying through beautiful places, competent management of the province the personality of the sitter is subtly and
he tires and rests in Japan are reflected in the seventeen-article penetratingly revealed, much as in con-
His body will be ever healthier, and he will house laws of the Asakura family. An ex- temporary portraits of Zen ecclesiastics.
live a long life. AY

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