9.5: Kano School (Late 15th century – 1868)

Introduction

The powerful Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan for over 250 years, bringing prosperity and a lively urban culture. Artisans and merchants who produced and sold goods were considered an essential part of society. During this period, the Kano Art School was started by Kano Eitoku. Kanō Tan’yū, Kanō Sanraku, and Kanō Sansetsu were some of the master painters and leaders.

According to Japanese history, the Kano Art School was the most influential in painting, and it experienced the longest tenure. Existing for more than 300 years, the Kano Art School influenced painters, creating a broad range of styles, themes, and formats generally focused on Zen philosophy. The school was established and associated with Chinese painting styles using brushes, ink, and sparse use of colored pigments. The artists trained in family workshops similar to the European painters, developing their craft before being accepted into the Kano school.

As the Kano school expanded, student artists started developing new styles, adding color, pattern, and Japanese interests to the original style. The shoguns and emperors that ruled the country supported the artists, allowing them to flourish and create additional variations. The school grew with studios in many cities where artisans trained and worked together to support the samurai, aristocracy, and clergy. The decorative gold leaf on the panels and screens created by the artists, as reflected in the image of Chinese Lions (9.5.1), helped to reflect light in the dark castles, permitting the nobility to flaunt their wealth in limited natural lighting. Although the painting is titled Lions, the two figures appear to be a cross between the tiger and dragon, common themes. The lions seem to be standing atop a cliff; however, the canyon falls off at an odd angle and fails perspective. Artists in this section include:

• Kano Motonobu (1476-1559)
• Kano Eitoku (1543-1590)
• Kano Sanraku (1559-1635)
• Kano Sansetsu (1589-1651)
• Kanō Einō
• Kano Naonobu

Ink and Gold

The Kano family built a creative dynasty that shaped Japanese artistic excellence for over 400 years. "Ink and Gold: Art of the Kano" presents more than 120 works, including large-scale paintings of animals, figures, and landscapes set against lustrous gold leaf, evoking power and grandeur with beauty and the finest craftsmanship. It is the first exhibition outside Japan to fully examine the Kano legacy as Japan’s most influential and enduring school of painters, preeminent from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries.

 

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Chinese Lions (16^th century, color, ink, gold leaf on paper, 88 x 178 cm) (public domain)

Kano Motonobu

Kano Motonobu (1476-1559) was from a prominent family in the art world for a few centuries and descendants of warriors. Kano Motonobu was the son of Kano Masanobu, who founded the Kano School. His artistic capabilities were evident as a child, and he received commissions from an early age. Kano Motonobu became head of the Kano School and grew the school’s success through his marketing and charm capabilities. The school expanded through multiple projects, creating a workshop environment where family members and apprentices created his designs. Motonobu developed his style of brushwork and a monochromatic palette. His images were dramatic and usually designed to fit into the desires of the samurai warrior class and what they wanted to see in the artwork. He was versatile and painted landscapes, figures, and multiple patterns. He developed a fusion of Chinese style and iconography with Japanese aesthetics and helped the Kano School achieve its legendary status.[1]

The four seasons have been a significant inspiration for Japanese painters throughout the centuries. Seasons demonstrated the impermanence of time and had social and religious rituals tied to the seasons. Kano Motonobu painted Four Seasons in two panels: Autumn and Winter (9.5.2) and Spring and Summer (9.5.3). In Autumn and Winter, the birds fly away, and the trees and flowers are dark and drooping. The sky is angry with clouds and wind. In Spring and Summer, different types of birds are seen across the scene. Trees are leafed out, and flowers are in bloom. The sky is misty and foggy in the early morning fog. Rocks and water are a form of permanence that anchors the images. The brushstrokes are visible in the painting, especially in the monotone palette. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Four Seasons (Autumn and Winter) (1560) (public domain)

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Four Seasons (Spring and Summer (1560) (public domain)

Kano Eitoku

Kano Eitoku (1543 – 1590 ) was one of the most influential leaders of the Kano School movement. His talent was recognized at an early age, and he grew up under the tutelage of his grandfather, who was influenced by Chinese painting. He started painting early, and the shogun saw his work at age ten. Eitoku was in high demand by the ruling and wealthy class and decorated many castles with painted sliding doors, walls, and standing screens. His work frequently used symbolic representations, like the pheasant, one of Japan’s national symbols. Unfortunately, most of his work was destroyed in later-century wars.

His main contribution to the Kano school was the "monumental style," with bold, quick brushwork seen in Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons (9.5.4), emphasizing the foreground of significant figures or subjects. In the panel is the red-crowned crane, a long-living bird symbolizing luck and longevity. The juvenile cranes are looking up at the larger bird. Spring and summer flowers sit at the bottom of the painting. The painting has a flat look as the background of gold acts as the sky and ground. The dark trees and plants fill the picture, moving across the screen. The contrast is between the positive forms and the opulent gold.  

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons (late 16^th century, ink, color, gold leaves on paper, 160.7 x 360.7 cm) (public domain)

Kano Sanraku

Kano Sanraku (1559-1635) was one of the many Kano family artists who worked for the shoguns. When he was introduced to Kano Eitoku, the head of the Kano school, Eitoku was very impressed with the boy’s abilities. Kano Sanraku became head of the school when Kano Eitoku died, and the school focused on reconstructing some of the castles and shrines. Kano Sanraku used the concepts of naturalism and added elegant ornamentation. He knew multiple techniques because of his work decorating castles and a wide range of works, from monochrome to ink-wash painting. Dragons and Tigers (9.5.5) depicts opposing forces, yet still complimentary in Japanese mythology. The concept of opposing powers represents the universe’s Yin and Yang. The tigers are on one side of the scroll, and the dragons are on the other. The dragons are more abstractly presented as they float through the air, challenging the tigers. The strong gold background adds strength, drama, and contrast to the painting. The blowing branches on the trees and shrubs demonstrate the strength of the dragons' breath and power. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Tigers and Dragons (17^th century, color on paper, 178 x 357 cm) (public domain)

Kano Sansetsu 

Kano Sansetsu (1589-1651) was a significant painter in Kyoto and dedicated to studying classical Asian images. Although he was not a monk, he incorporated Zen images into his work, which were known to the wealthy and religious. Initially, he was an apprentice to Kano Sanraku and married his daughter. Later, he became head of the school. 

Shakyamuni Emerging from the Mountains, with Dragon and Tiger (9.5.6), depicts Buddha and his spiritual movement as he comes from living in the wilderness. “Emaciated, with an unkempt beard, he is supported by two powerful beasts of heaven and earth commonly seen in Zen Buddhist pictures and spaces. At right, a dragon bursts forth from a swirl of murky clouds, while at left, a tiger tiptoes out of the shadows of a grove.”[2]The panels use muted colors and are less dramatic than those with gold backgrounds. The figures are reduced, and the light orange frames support the size. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): Shakyamuni Emerging from the Mountains, with Dragon and Tiger (First half 17^th century, triptych ink on paper, 195.3 x 57.8 cm) (public domain)

Across four separate panels, the immense black trunk of a tree winds its knarly way in the painting Old Plum (9.5.7). The ancient tree is still alive, sprouting blossoms and symbolizing rebirth. The panels were made for the wall in a Zen temple in Kyoto. The trunk and major branches of the old tree stretch across the center, with two panels balancing the tree in the middle. Tiny flowers and rocks are on the outer panels to support the scene. The ancient tree is dramatic in its depiction, size, and curves, all highlighted against a gold background. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\): Old Plum (1646, ink, color, gold, gold leaf on paper, 174.6 x 485.5 cm) (public domain)

Kano Elno

Kano Elno (1631-1697) was the son of Kano Sansetsu and grandson of the Kano Sanraku. Kano Eino wrote the Honcho gashi, a comprehensive and earliest text about the history of art in Japan. The work documents over 400 artists and their biographies. The information has been the most useful in documenting Japanese painting. Earlier works only documented the art of China. When the Kano school moved from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo), Kano Eino stayed in Kyoto and ran the school there. 

Kano Eino’s massive screen painting Birds and Flowers of Spring and Summer (9.5.8) focused on the cherry tree willow with white and red blossoms. The pine tree in the center is wrapped with wisteria. Birds and turtles are scattered throughout the image, with a flow from the white stream bringing a cooling feel to the summer look. Gold color is used for the sky, clouds, and background.  

Figure \(\PageIndex{8}\): Birds and Flowers of Spring and Summer (late half 17^th century, 153.0 x 361.0 cm) (public domain)

Kano Naonobu 

Kano Naonobu (1607-1650), another son of Kano Takanobu, continued the line of successful painters. He established himself as a prime painter for the Tokugawa shogunate and had many commissions. He is known for how boldly he used negative space. Kano Naonobu was also known as a master of ink-wash painting. His screen Fushimi saigyoku-zu (9.5.9) demonstrates outstanding use of negative space. The broad use of yellow/orange background is embellished with grays and small spots of black. Mount Fuji is barely visible in the background as gray is used to form the outline of the peak. The mountains occupy a lot of space when the image is carefully examined. A tiny figure anchors the bottom of the painting, the figure looking at Mt. Fuji. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{9}\): Fushimi saigyoku-zu byobu (17^th century, ink on paper, 155.8 x 363.4 cm) (public domain)

 

 

 

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[1] Jōhei, S. (1984). "The Era of the Kanō School". Modern Asian Studies. 18 (4): 647–656.

[2] Shakyamuni Emerging from the Mountains, with Dragon and Tiger