Two individuals who lived through the Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods.
狩野永徳は400年続いた狩野派の最高峰の絵師で常に時の為政者に入り美術界の権威を守り続け、いわゆるアカデミズを継承し続けた
Kano Eitoku was the preeminent painter of the Kano school -a lineage that spanned four hundred years- who consistently maintained close ties with the rulers of his time, upheld the authority of the art world, and perpetuated the established artistic tradition.
「唐獅子図屏風」
Folding Screen Depicting Chinese Lions
まばゆい金箔の雲に風にたなびく立て髪と尻尾の二頭の獅子は中国伝来の唐獅子図とはいえ永徳の絵は実に力強い体躯で巨大な屏風図でもありまさに日本的な美であると言える
Set against dazzling clouds of gold leaf, the two lions —their manes and tails streaming in the wind— are depicted with truly powerful physiques; although the style originates from Chinese *karajishi* (Chinese lion) imagery, Eitoku’s rendition, executed on a massive folding screen, embodies a distinctly Japanese aesthetic.
狩野永徳「唐獅子図屏風」
宮内庁三の丸尚蔵館蔵
Kano Eitoku, *Chinese Lions* (Folding Screen)
Collection of the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan (Imperial Household Agency)
長谷川等伯は能登で大和絵をベースに仏画の絵師として出発し33歳で初めて京都に移った。
たった一代で時の秀吉に見出され、狩野派に挑んだ絵師であり多分永徳も意識していたのではなかったか。
Hasegawa Tōhaku began his career in Noto as a painter of Buddhist images rooted in the *Yamato-e* style, moving to Kyoto for the first time at the age of thirty-three.
He was an artist who, within a single lifetime, caught the eye of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and challenged the Kano school—likely with Eitoku himself in mind as a rival.
「松林図屏風」
"Pine Trees" (Folding Screens)
近世水墨画の最高傑作であると言える松だけが描かれた絵ではあるが紙の素材を使い余白の美による何故か霧の中にあるような奥行きと広さを感じさせる。
It can be considered a supreme masterpiece of early modern ink wash painting.
Although the painting depicts only a pine tree, the use of the paper's texture and the beauty of the negative space evoke a sense of depth and vastness—as if the subject were shrouded in mist.
長谷川等伯「松林図屏風」
東京国立博物館蔵
Hasegawa Tohaku, Pine Trees (Folding Screens)
Collection of the Tokyo National Museum
まさに日本の美を共に伝承した振り幅の大きい名画と言える。
It can truly be described as a masterpiece of remarkable range that embodies the beauty of Japan.
俵屋宗達の描いた「風神雷神図屏風」が100年後の尾形光琳と、さらに100年後の酒井抱一を繋いだ
Tawaraya Sōtatsu’s *Wind God and Thunder God* folding screens bridged the gap between Ogata Kōrin—active a century later—and Sakai Hōitsu, who was active a century after that.
俵屋宗達「風神雷神図屏風」
17世紀前半 建仁寺蔵
Tawaraya Sotatsu, *Wind God and Thunder God* (Folding Screens)
First half of the 17th century; Collection of Kennin-ji Temple
尾形光琳「風神雷神図屏風」
18世紀前半 東京国立博物館蔵
Ogata Korin, *Wind God and Thunder God* (Folding Screens)
First half of the 18th century; Collection of the Tokyo National Museum
俵屋宗達は江戸時代初期の激動な時代に合った野生児のような自由奔放な絵師として後水尾院、千利休や光悦などに引き立てられ大いに活躍の場を広げていった。
その宗達ではあるがその生涯は謎に包まれており、生年、没年が不詳なのは何故だろうか。
Tawaraya Sōtatsu was a free-spirited painter—resembling a wild child—who thrived amidst the turbulent times of the early Edo period, rising to prominence through the patronage of figures such as Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Sen no Rikyū, and Hon'ami Kōetsu.
Yet, despite his significant achievements, his life remains shrouded in mystery; one wonders why the years of his birth and death are unknown.
俵屋宗達「松図襖」
養源院蔵
Tawaraya Sotatsu, Sliding Door Paintings of Pine Trees Collection of Yogen-in Temple.
尾形光琳は1658 年雁金屋を屋号とする京都有数の呉服商の次男として生まれた。
しかし商売が傾き経済的理由から三十代半ばで絵師として遅い出発となったが、1701年宮廷から法橋という称号を賜った直後に「燕子花図屏風」を制作し、その画風は宗達的でもあり、京都公家社会に入っていく機会を得たものだった。
1709 年江戸から京都に戻った光琳は弟乾山との合作や「風神雷神図屏風」「紅白梅図屏風」など充実した仕事ぶりで今に伝わる大作を生み出した。
宗達の美に出会い、学ぶことで光琳模様と呼ばれる独自の植物や自然を大胆にしかも単純化した絵に落としたのちに琳派と呼ばれた描写を確立していった。
Ogata Kōrin was born in 1658 as the second son of a prominent Kyoto kimono merchant trading under the name "Kariganeya."
Although the family business declined—forcing him to make a late start as a painter in his mid-thirties due to financial circumstances—he created the Irises folding screens shortly after being granted the title of Hokkyō by the Imperial Court in 1701; this work, which echoed the style of Sōtatsu, served as a gateway for him to enter the aristocratic circles of Kyoto.
After returning to Kyoto from Edo in 1709, Kōrin produced enduring masterpieces through a prolific body of work that included collaborations with his younger brother Kenzan and iconic pieces such as the Wind God and Thunder God screens and the Red and White Plum Blossoms screens.
By encountering and studying the aesthetic of Sōtatsu, he developed a distinctive style—later known as "Rinpa"—characterized by bold yet simplified depictions of plants and nature, a signature approach that came to be called the "Kōrin pattern."
尾形光琳「燕子花図屏風」
18世紀前半 根津美術館蔵
Ogata Korin, Irises (folding screens)
First half of the 18th century; Collection of the Nezu Museum
酒井抱一は姫路藩主酒井忠恭の三男忠仰の次男として生まれ、兄忠以が第2代藩主になるなど上屋敷生活で文化人などとの交流で絵や俳諧など親しんできた。
37歳で出家した後私淑していた尾形光琳への思いもあり、光琳の「風神雷神図屏風」を所有していた第十一代将軍徳川家斉の父一橋治済に依頼され「夏秋草図屏風」を描き、それをその光琳の絵の裏に描いた。
1815年には光琳の百回忌を営み光琳百図など刊行するなど江戸での光琳、乾山の顕彰活動に努めた。
Sakai Hōitsu was born the second son of Tadamochi—himself the third son of Sakai Tadazumi, the Lord of the Himeji Domain.
Living in the clan's upper residence in Edo, Hōitsu associated with cultural figures and cultivated an appreciation for arts such as painting and haikai poetry.
After entering the Buddhist priesthood at the age of thirty-seven, and driven by deep admiration for Ogata Kōrin, he accepted a commission from Hitotsubashi Harusada—the father of the eleventh shogun, Tokugawa Ienari, and the owner of Kōrin’s Wind God and Thunder God screens—to paint the Summer and Autumn Grasses screens.
He executed this work on the reverse side of Kōrin’s original masterpiece.
In 1815, he organized the memorial service marking the centennial of Kōrin’s death and published works such as Kōrin Hyakuzu (One Hundred Designs by Kōrin), dedicating himself to promoting the legacies of Kōrin and Kenzan in Edo.
酒井抱一「夏秋草図屏風」右隻
19世紀前半 東京国立博物館蔵
Sakai Hoitsu, Summer and Autumn Grasses (folding screen), right panel First half of the 19th century; collection of the Tokyo National Museum
酒井抱一「夏秋草図屏風」左隻
19 世紀前半 東京国立博物館蔵
Sakai Hoitsu, Summer and Autumn Grasses (folding screen), left panel First half of the 19th century; collection of the Tokyo National Museum
We spotlight the Japanese-style painters who represent the "third generation"̶artists who took *Yamato-e* as their starting point and sought to further modernize Japanese painting.
奥村土牛はその人柄がそのまま絵に伝わっている作品に優しさが満ち溢れている。
土牛は17才で梶田半古に入門し、塾頭の小林古径に画の手ほどきを受けその後も師事し、先輩には前田青邨、知己として速水御舟、さらに日本美術院同人に推挙されてからは横山大観をはじめ偉大な画家たちから大きな教えを受けた。
その中、土牛は自己への挑戦に一歩一歩精進を重ねた画業人生であったと中公文庫「牛の歩み」にはある。
Okumura Togyu's paintings are imbued with kindness, reflecting h is personality.
At the age of 17, Togyu became a pupil of Kajita Hanko, receiving instruction in painti ng from the head of the school, Kobayashi Kokei.
He continued to study under other artists, including Maeda Seis on as a senior, Hayami Gyoshu as a close friend, and after bein grecommended as a member of the Japan Art Institute, he received great instruction from renowned painters such as Yokoyama Taik an.
Throughout this period, Togyu's artistic career was characteriz ed by a steady, step-by-step pursuit of self-improvement, as described in the Chuko Bunko edition of "The Pace of an Ox."
国立近代美術館所蔵作品展展示より
前田青邨 「土牛君の像」1973年
From the exhibition of works from the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art Maeda Seison, "Portrait of Dogyu-kun", 1973
前田青邨 Maeda Seison
前田青邨は梶田半古塾で土牛の先輩でありその後再興日本美術院では安田靫彦、小林古径とともに三羽烏と呼ばれ「囚われたる重衡」など歴史画をはじめ「Y 氏像」など現存人物の肖像画も人間を題材にした秀作を数多く描いた。
Maeda Seison was a senior of Togyu at the kajita Hanko School, and later, at the Reconstructed Japan Art Institute, he was known as one of the three great musketeers along with Yasuda Yukihiko and Kobayashi Kokei, and produced many exc ellent works with human subjects, including historical paintings such as "Imprisoned Shigehira" and portraits of living people such as "Portrait of Mr. Y."
御舟は14才で松本楓湖に入門し、先輩である今村紫紅に師事し、彼の自由闊達の画風を学びながら、さらに写実的描写を踏まえたものを追求していった。
わずか40歳という短い画業人生であったが、残された作品は多彩であり多くの素晴らしい作品を残した。
At the age of 14, Gyoshu became a pupil of Matsumoto Fuko and studied under his senior, Imamura Shiko.
While learning Matsumoto's free and open style, he continued to pursue a style based on realistic depiction.
Although his career as an artist was short, lasting only 40 years, he left behind a diverse and numerous body of magnificent works.
速水御舟 「女二題」「福島県立美術館作品選」図録より
渡欧から帰った翌年の作品で弥夫人をモデルに写実と日本画特有の線描が映える。
Hayami Gyoshu, "Two Subjects of Women" From the catalogue Selected Works of the Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art.
This work was created the year after he returned from Europe and features Lady Ya as a model.
The work displays realism together with the linework characteristic of Japanese painting.
安田靫彦 「今村紫紅像」
有隣新書「今村紫紅」カバー写真より
Yasuda Yukihiko, "Portrait of Imamura Shiko" Cover photo from Yurin Shinsho's Imamura Shiko
今村紫紅 Imamura Shiko
御舟は楓湖塾の先輩今村紫紅を追って紅児会に、さらに再興日本美術院、赤曜会と紫紅から多くを学んでいったその今村紫紅は自由放任主義の楓湖塾で紫紅は南画に傾斜し、そこに洋画、やまと絵の技法も取り入れ紫紅独自の画法を確立しつつあった。
「僕は壊すから、君たち建設してくれ給え」と御舟はじめ後輩に送った言葉がある。御舟は生涯をかけてそこにチャレンジしてきたのだと思う。
Mifune followed his senior from the Fuko-juku, Imamura Shiko, to the Koji-kai, and later to the revived Japan Art Institute and the Sekiyo-kai, learning much from Shiko. Imamura Shiko, in the laissez-faire Fuko-juku, leaned towards Nanga painting, incorporating Western and Yamato-e techniques to establish his own unique style.
He once said to Mifune and his juniors, "I'll tear it down, you build it." I believe Mifune dedicated his life to this challenge.