was a Japanese

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. He was the chief painter of the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establ ...

and is generally considered the founder of the

Kanō school The is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting from the late 15th century until the Meiji period which began in 1868, by which time the school had divided into many di ...

of painting. Kano Masanobu specialized in Zen paintings as well as elaborate paintings of

Buddhist deities Great mandala of the Tôji imperial temple in Kyoto Buddhism includes a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various ritual and popular contexts. Initially they included mainly Indian figures such as devas, asuras and yakshas, but ...

and

Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

Life and work

Masanobu's father had been a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

and amateur artist named Kanō Kagenobu. Masanobu would start the line of professional artists of the Kanō family. As an artist, Masanobu, like many in his day, was influenced by the priest-painter

Tenshō Shūbun was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and painter of the Muromachi period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shūbun''" in History Shūbun was born in the late 14th century in Ōmi Province and became a professional painter around 1403. He set ...

, and some sources indicate that he may have received the bulk of his artistic education under Shūbun. Masanobu worked in the ''

suiboku Ink wash painting ( zh, t=水墨畫, s=水墨画, p=shuǐmòhuà; ja, 水墨画, translit=suiboku-ga or ja, 墨絵, translit=sumi-e; ko, 수묵화, translit=sumukhwa) is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses black ink, such as tha ...

'' ink and wash style, derived from

Chinese painting Chinese painting () is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as ''guó huà'' (), meaning "national painting" or "native painting", as opposed to Western style ...

, but brought a Japanese touch to the style with more defined forms. Very few of his works survive with ''Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses'' being an exception. Kanō Masanobu would serve the

as an official painter (御用絵師, ''goyō eshi''), succeeding Sōtan to the post. Although Masanobu's father was a samurai, the family was provincial and therefore he did not hold a court rank. Instead of a rank, he had gained his position in service due to a mix of both achievement and social capital. This led to some criticism as aristocrat Shūzan Tōki expressed disdain towards Masanobu stating he was not a "born court painter." File:Ashikaga Yoshihisa.jpg,

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Ashikaga Yoshihisa was the 9th ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1473 to 1489 during the Muromachi period of Japan.Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) ''Lessons from History: The Tokushi Yoron'', p. 331. Yoshihisa was the son of the eighth ''shōgun'' Ashi ...

File:Landscape by Kano Masanobu (Kyushu National Museum).jpg, Landscape, Kyushu National Museum File:Landscape by Kano Masanobu (Kyushu National Museum)2.jpg, Landscape, Kyushu National Museum

Legacy

The Kanō school would maintain its dominance as the dominant painting style for over 400 years from Masanobu's time up through the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

(1868). However, the school's style is neither purely nor mainly Masanobu's legacy, as the distinct Kanō style is linked more to Masanobu's son Kanō Motonobu, who took over as head of the school after Masanobu.

Genealogy

Masanobu is said to be a descendant of Kanō Muneshige, a

of the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

of the Kanō clan, through his father, Kanō Kagenobu. Through this lineage, Masanobu would descend from the

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

through the

Kudō clan Kudo or KUDO may refer to: * KOAN (AM), a radio station (1080 AM) in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, which held the call sign KUDO from 2002 to 2013 * Kūdō, a martial art and a combat sport, also called daido juku People Kudō (工藤; Kudo ...

References

External links

Bridge of dreams: the Mary Griggs Burke collection of Japanese art
a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Kanō Masanobu (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kano, Masanobu 1430s births 1530s deaths 15th-century Japanese painters 16th-century Japanese painters Kanō school Buddhist artists History of art in Japan

Life and work

Legacy

Genealogy

See also

References

External links