Page 91 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

gifted poet and scholar of poetry: he re-
ceived the Kokin denju (secret teachings
on the poetics of the early-tenth-century
Kokinshù poetry anthology) from the San-
jónishi family (cat. 66). He also became an
important figure among the literary men
around Hideyoshi who pursued the art of
renga (linked verse).
In this portrait the seated Yüsai ap-
pears relaxed, with a Chinese-style fan in
his right hand. Another portrait with an
identical composition was transmitted in
the Hosokawa family and is now in the
Eisei Bunko. A clan document indicates
that it was painted by a certain Tashiro
Tóyü, commissioned by Yüsai's widow
(cat. 27) on the third anniversary of his
death. Tashiro Tóyü may in fact be a mis-
interpretation of the name of Tashiro
Tôho, a painter who served the Hosokawa
clan. Since the Tenjuan portrait is exe-
cuted in the same style as the Eisei Bunko
version, the two may have both been
painted by Tóho. The inscription on the
painting exhibited here, read from left to
right, was written by the Zen priest Ishin
Suden (cat. 53), abbot of Nanzenji, in the
fifth month of 1612. His inscription is fol-
lowed by an illegible tripod-shaped relief
seal. Yusai, in 1602, restored Tenjuan,
which was the hôjô (abbot's quarters) in
Nanzenji. Excerpts from the inscription
read as follows:
... Renowned for his elegant pursuits, he is
a complete man combining arts [bun] and
arms [bu]. A man of nobility, a descendant
of the sixth grandson of the emperor Seiwa,
he was a ruler endowed with awesome dig-
nity and inspiring decorum.... He built a
splendid castle, which was majestic, beauti-
ful and high.... When he lectured on The
Tale ofGenji, the big river and the ocean
took in small rivers, like the River Min en-
tering Chu [name of an ancient country in
China]. He could argue right and left and 29
up and down.... He discussed Chinese po-
etic styles and recited by heart the secret
teachings of Japanese poetry, that is, Kokin-
shù, Man'ydshù [Anthology of myriad
leaves], and the Tale of he. He recited sit- 27 Kójuin nature is followed by his square relief seal.
ting down or walking.... The round fan in hanging scroll; ink and color on silk The painting now forms a pair with that of
his hand sweeps away the muggy heat. The 104.0 x 51.0 (41 x 20) her then-deceased husband, painted a few
sharp sword he wears on his waist cut off Edo period, 1618 years earlier. The sitter faces her husband,
human passions and ties. Try to paint him; Tenjuan, Kyoto her palms joined in prayer and one knee
it can't be done. Try to draw him; it can't be Important Cultural Property raised. This work, like cat. 26, also has a
achieved. The more one looks up, the higher counterpart in the Eisei Bunko. The Eisei
Bunko version has an inscription written
he is; the more one tries to delve, the harder Kójuin (1544-1618) is the posthumous Bud-
.
he is to penetrate ... The late Hosokawa dhist title of the wife of Hosokawa Yüsai in the eighth month of the same year by
Yùsai passed away suddenly on the twenti- (1534-1610); she was a daughter of Numata Yúsetsu Zuihó, which says that Hosokawa
eth day of the eighth month of the fifteenth Mitsukane, ruler of Kumagawa Castle in Tadaoki (Sansai, 1563-1646) had commis-
sioned it.
year ofKeichd [1610] at age seventy-seven. Wakasa Province (part of present-day Fu-
His bereaved wife, Kdjuin, commissioned kui Prefecture). For a while she had fol- The inscription on this portrait eulo-
an artist to paint a portrait of his benign lowed the Christian faith, with the name gizes Kójuin for her Buddhist faith and
face, and asked me to write an inscription. of Maria, having been baptized early in her knowledge of Chinese literature, quali-
My refusal was unheeded, so I have written the Keichó era (1596-1615). ties that would have made her particularly
useless words and wasted statements.... MS The inscription on this portrait, writ- compatible with her husband. It reads, in
ten by Reikei Ungaku in the eleventh part:
month of 1618, says that it was requested ... Her grace is bountiful, her courteousness
by Takayuki, one of her sons. Ungaku's sig-

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