was a ninth-century

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese artist, court painter of Heian (Kyoto). Known as someone who pursued and added depth to the style unique to Japanese-style painting, he is said to render service by establishing the style of ''

Yamato-e is a style of Japanese painting inspired by Tang dynasty paintings and fully developed by the late Heian period. It is considered the classical Japanese style. From the Muromachi period (15th century), the term Yamato-e has been used to distingui ...

'' painting, a traditional Japanese style painting of the late Heian and

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

periods dealing with Japanese themes. This was when ''kara-e'' (Chinese-style painting) lost its influence. His descendants later formed a circle of painters known as the Kose school, and it greatly influenced the fields of ''kyuutei-ga'' (court paintings) and Buddhist paintings. Though few of his works have survived, he is known to have painted landscapes and portraits. He also founded the Kose School of Art, which is named after him. He made the first tonal gradation, and the first Buddha in crayonnage style. This school would change from producing Chinese style paintings with Chinese themes into a more Japanese style of painting techniques.Kose School
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References

Japanese painters Buddhist artists 9th-century painters {{Japan-painter-stub