Kaihō Yūshō

{{Short description|Japanese painter (1533–1615)}}

{{family name hatnote|Kaiho|lang=Japanese}}

{{Infobox artist

| name =Kaihō, Yūshō Shōeki

| image = Daruma by Yusho.jpg

| image_size =

| alt = Painting of Daruma by Kaihō Yūshō

| caption = Painting of Daruma by Kaihō Yūshō

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| birth_date = 1533

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| death_date = 1615

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| nationality = Japanese

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| patrons =Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Emperor Go-Yōzei

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}}

{{nihongo|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.{{Cite web |title=Kaihō Yūshō {{!}} Japanese Ukiyo-e, Edo Period, Woodblock Prints {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kaiho-Yusho |access-date=2023-12-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} He was born in Ōmi province, the fifth son of Kaihō Tsunachika, 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 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.{{cite book|last=[unnamed]|title=Momoyama: Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur (exhibition catalogue)|year=1975|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-87099-125-6|pages=39}} 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.{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Laurance P.|title=A Dictionary of Japanese Artists|year=1976|publisher=Weatherhill|location=New York and Tokyo|page=207}}

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

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.{{cite book|last=[unnamed]|title=Momoyama: Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur (exhibition catalogue)|year=1975|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-87099-125-6|pages=5}}

Important Cultural Property status

Several of Yūshō's works have been designated as Registered Important Cultural Property. Among these are the following:{{cite book|last=[unnamed]|title=Momoyama: Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur (exhibition catalogue)|year=1975|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-87099-125-6|pages=33–39}}

  • 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

File:Flowers by Kaiho Yusho.jpg|Flowers by Kaiho Yusho

File:Kaihô Yûshô - Pine and Plum by Moonlight - Google Art Project.jpg|Kaihô Yûshô - Pine and Plum by Moonlight - Google Art Project

File:L'un des sept sages (1533-1615) par le peintre japonais Kaihō Yūshō.jpg|L'un des sept sages (1533-1615) par le peintre japonais Kaihō Yūshō

File:Oiseaux sur une branche de pin (1533-1615) par le peintre japonais Kaihō Yūshō.jpg|Oiseaux sur une branche de pin (1533-1615) par le peintre japonais Kaihō Yūshō

File:Kaihô Yûshô - Pine and Plum by Moonlight - Google Art Project (399082).jpg|Kaihô Yûshô - Pine and Plum by Moonlight - Google Art Project (399082)

{{commons category|Kaihō Yūshō}}

References

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