Sesshu

/ses shooh"/, n.

1420?-1506, Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and painter.

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▪ Japanese artist

Introduction

original surname  Oda , also called  Tōyō,  Unkoku , or  Bikeisai 

born 1420, Akahama, Bitchū province, Japan

died Aug. 26, 1506, near Masuda, Iwami province

      artist of the Muromachi period, one of the greatest masters of the Japanese art of sumi-e (suiboku-ga), or monochrome ink painting. Sesshū adapted Chinese models to Japanese artistic ideals and aesthetic sensibilities. He painted landscapes, Zen Buddhist pictures, and screens decorated with birds, flowers, and animals. His style is distinguished for its force and vehemence of brush stroke as well as by its intensity of conception.

Early life and career.

      In contrast to many of the masters of Japanese art about whose lives little is known, the biography and artistic career of Sesshū are recorded in detail. His family name was Oda; his original personal name is no longer known. In 1431, at the age of 10, he was enrolled at the local Zen temple, known as Hofuku Temple, where he received the name Tōyō, meaning “willowlike” (perhaps because he was slender and graceful). Zen Buddhist temples were the artistic and cultural centres of the period as well as the centres of spiritual life. As a young novice, therefore, Sesshū undoubtedly received not only religious guidance but also instruction in calligraphy and painting.

      In about 1440 he left his native province for Kyōto, then the capital city and the intellectual and artistic focus of Japan. The young monk lived at Shōkoku Temple, a famous Zen temple adjacent to the Imperial Palace of the Ashikaga shoguns, who were great art patrons. Shūbun, the most famous Japanese painter of the day, was the overseer of the buildings and grounds at Shōkoku Temple. In addition to studying painting under Shūbun, Sesshū studied Buddhism under the famous Zen master Shurin Suto. Although there are no paintings that can be assigned with certainty to this early period of Sesshū's career, it is believed that he must have worked in the style of Shūbun, who was profoundly influenced in both choice of subject matter and style by the Chinese painters of the Sung (Song dynasty) period (960–1279). Sung masters enjoyed great favour with the Japanese Zen painters, and their work was eagerly collected by Japanese connoisseurs and artists alike. The young Sesshū, therefore, must have had many opportunities to study masterpieces of Chinese painting.

      After spending 20 years in Kyōto, Sesshū left the capital for Yamaguchi in the western part of the island of Honshu, a city that had become an important cultural centre under the Ōuchi clan. In Yamaguchi, the artist became the chief priest of Unkoku Temple, and it was at this time, probably in 1466, that he began to call himself Sesshū (“Snow Boat”). It seems certain that one of the reasons Sesshū chose to move to Yamaguchi was his desire to go to China. Strategically located, this section of Japan was the staging point for many expeditions to the Asian mainland. The Ōuchi lords, in fact, had a trade permit that enabled them to conduct very profitable commercial transactions with China.

Journey to China.

      Sesshū succeeded in joining one of these Japanese trading missions as an art expert and landed in 1468 at Ning-po in southern China. He was to act as a “purchaser priest,” who would buy Chinese paintings for his patrons and would also study at the Chinese Zen monasteries. Sesshū was disappointed with contemporary Chinese painting, which, under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), had turned away from the spiritual and aesthetic ideas prevalent during the Sung period. Nevertheless, the magnificent scenery of China, as well as the contact with the Ch'an (Chinese word for Zen) monasteries, was a source of great inspiration to Sesshū, who often referred to these experiences in his later life. As a distinguished visitor from Japan, Sesshū was treated with great respect. He was honoured with the “First Seat” (that is, the seat next to the abbot in the famous Ch'an monastery of Mt. T'ien-t'ung), which led him to sign several of his paintings “Occupant of the First Seat at T'ien-t'ung.” He also travelled to the Chinese capital of Peking. A friend who accompanied him on this trip reported that Sesshū was invited to paint the walls of one of the halls of the Ministry of Rites at the Imperial Palace. It is not known whether this story is true or whether it is an exaggeration of some other invitation, but it does indicate in what high esteem this Japanese master was held by his Chinese contemporaries. What Sesshū's painting of this period may have looked like is perhaps best exemplified by a set of four landscape scrolls (Tokyo National Museum) that are signed “Tōyō, Japanese Zen Priest,” a designation hardly necessary if they were painted in Japan.

The mature years and works.

      Having been honoured at the Imperial Court in Peking and at the most celebrated Zen monastery in China, Sesshū was at the height of his career. In 1469 he returned to Japan, where his fame had greatly increased. It is believed that he first went back to Yamaguchi but eventually (probably in 1476) built a charming rustic retreat across the strait near Oita in Bungo Province. He called his new house and studio Tenkai Zuga-rō (Heaven Created Painting Pavilion) as a tribute to the peace and beauty of the setting. Sesshū painted some of his most outstanding works here and received many visitors who wished to hear about his trip to China or to study painting under him.

      After many trips through northern Kyushu and other sections of Japan, Sesshū again returned to Yamaguchi in 1486 and rebuilt his studio. It is not certain whether or not he also lived in Iwami, as some sources suggest. Several temples claim the honour of being his burial site.

      A large body of work has been assigned to Sesshū, but the question of authenticity is particularly vexing. Some of the paintings usually attributed to him are accepted without question on the basis of their outstanding quality, provenance, or inscriptions. Many others bearing his seal and signature are merely assigned to him because of their style and may be school pieces produced by his numerous followers. The largest group of authentic Sesshū scrolls are those in the Tokyo National Museum, which, in addition to four early landscapes believed to have been painted in China, has three of the major works of his maturity. Two of them are hanging scrolls (kakemono) representing autumn and winter. The third is a landscape painted in the haboku, or splashed-ink technique, and therefore usually referred to as the “Haboku-sansui” scroll. Painted in 1495, this work was given by Sesshū to his pupil Sōen when he returned to Kamakura after studying under the master.

      The so-called long landscape scroll, or “Sansui Chōkan” (probably painted in 1486) is generally considered his masterpiece and is often regarded as the greatest Japanese ink painting. Depicting the four seasons, beginning with spring and ending with winter, it extends more than 50 feet (15 metres). Though based in both theme and style on Chinese models, it nevertheless is Japanese in character; heavier lines, sharper contrasts of dark and light tones, and a flatter effect of space are employed than was customary in Sung painting. Almost equally outstanding is another horizontal landscape scroll in the Asano Collection, Odawara. Believed to be somewhat earlier in date, the inscription says that it was painted in 1474 at the request of his pupil Tōetsu. Its style is far freer and more subtle. A very different kind of landscape painting is the “Amano-Hashidate” scroll (c. 1502–05) in the Kyōto National Museum. Much more detailed and realistic, it is almost like a topographic view of a particular place.

      In addition to these landscapes, Sesshū painted a large number of Buddhist pictures that were often directly inspired by Zen teachings. The most famous of these is the scroll dated 1496 showing Bodhidharma and Hui K'o (1496; Sainen-ji, Aichi Prefecture). Painted in heavy, vigorous lines, it reveals how Hui K'o cut off his arm in order to demonstrate his seriousness to Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism who is called Daruma in Japan.

      Sesshū also painted decorative screens. Perhaps the best of the ones attributed to him is the pair of six-fold screens showing birds and flowers in the Kosaka Collection in Tokyo. Painted in a realistic yet decorative manner, with slight additions of colour, they reveal yet another aspect of the artist's genius. In contrast to the landscapes and Zen pictures that are inspired by the paintings of Sung China, these pictorial compositions are closer to the type of decorative painting that flourished in China during the Ming period.

      While his most celebrated works are all in Japan, other pictures attributed to Sesshū are located in the West, especially in United States collections. The Museum of Fine Arts (Fine Arts, Museum of), Boston, for example, has seven paintings attributed to him, but the only one that is at all likely to be by Sesshū himself is a pair of screens depicting falcons and monkeys, which has Sesshū's seal and signature, as well as an inscription saying it was painted during the artist's 72nd year. Other works that may be authentic are found in the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Seattle Art Museum. The great bulk, however, of the many scrolls traditionally attributed to Sesshū both in Japan and in the West are generally considered to be school pieces or copies inspired by the work of the master.

Assessment.

      Of all the many distinguished painters Japan has produced, Sesshū is often considered to have been the most outstanding. This estimate is based not only on the excellence of his work but also on his eminence as a Zen monk and man of learning. The tradition of the Zen-Buddhist-inspired style of ink painting (sumi-e) finds its ultimate expression in his art. He transformed an artistic style imported from China in the 14th century into something characteristically Japanese.

      Sesshū was already hailed during his lifetime as the greatest Japanese painter of his time, a verdict ratified by later generations of artists, many of whom imitated his style or were influenced by his work even as late as the 19th century. Several painters even used his name; these included the great 16th-century master Hasegawa Tōhaku, who proudly signed himself Sesshū of the fifth generation. An entire school of Japanese painting, the Unkoku school, devoted itself to continuing his artistic heritage.

Hugo Munsterberg

Major Works

There are only a few authenticated works by Sesshū, the most important of which are: “Four Seasons Landscape,” four landscape scrolls (c. 1470–90; Tokyo National Museum); “Autumn Landscape,” hanging scroll (c. 1470–90; Tokyo National Museum); “Winter Landscape,” hanging scroll (c. 1470–90; Tokyo National Museum); “Short Scroll Landscape” (c. 1474–90; Asano Collection, Odawara, Japan); “Portrait of Masuda Kanetaka” (1479; Masuda Collection, Tokyo); “Long Scroll Landscape,” or “Sansui Chōkan” (c. 1486; Mōri Collection, Yamaguchi, Japan); “Haboku-Sansui,” scroll (1495; Tokyo National Museum); “Daruma and Hui K'o,” scroll (1496; Sainen-ji, Aichi, Japan); “Ama-no-Hashidate,” scroll (c. 1502–05; Kyoto National Museum); “Flowers and Birds,” pair of six-fold screens (undated; Kosaka Collection, Tokyo).

Additional Reading

J.C. Covell, Under the Seal of Sesshū (1941), the only detailed and scholarly study of Sesshū in English; E. Grilli, Sesshū (1957), a brief English survey of the life and art of Sesshū that is well illustrated.

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