Kano Motonobu

Japanese: 狩野元信 - かのう・もとのぶ

Year of death: October 6, 1559 (November 5, 1559)
Year of birth: Bunmei 8.8.9? (1476.8.28)
A painter from the late Muromachi period. Born in Yamashiro Province (Kyoto Prefecture) as the son of Masanobu, the founder of the Kano school. His childhood name was Shirōjirō. He was appointed as Oisuke and Echizen no Kami, and was further appointed as a hōgen. The earliest record of his painting is the production of "Kurama-dera Engi" in 1513, and he also led his school together with Soami in the production of the partition paintings for the guest hall of Daisen-in, Daitoku-ji, which was built in the same year. There have been differing theories in recent years about the date of the production of these partition paintings, but they can be considered to have been created not far from 1513. Of these, "Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons" (owned by Daisen-in, Daitoku-ji) and "Zen Sect Patriarch" (owned by Tokyo National Museum) were created by Motonobu himself, and are standard works from his early period. Records show that he was later involved in the production of partition paintings for Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple from 1539 to 1542, but these no longer exist. A standard work from his later period is the sliding screen paintings in the former abbot's chambers of Reiun-in Temple, Myoshinji Temple, which was built in 1559. As with the Daisen-in paintings, these were produced in a studio led by his school, and it is certain that Motonobu himself produced "Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons." As is evident from his sliding screen paintings, Motonobu organized his school, established a system of division of labor, and succeeded in meeting a wide range of demands. He absorbed a wide range of Chinese painting styles from the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, organized and integrated the traditional Muromachi ink painting style represented by Shubun, and also adopted Yamato-e techniques early on, establishing a strict style that would become the standard for later generations. He surpassed his father Masanobu in his achievements in establishing the foundations of the Kano school, which reigned over the art world for about 400 years, and was later deified as "Koho-gan." It is said that Motonobu married the daughter of Tosa Mitsunobu, who was in charge of painting at the Imperial Court, and it is speculated that he had connections with the Tosa school, which represents Yamato-e. He is said to have had three children, but two of them died young and biographies are unclear, so his third son, Shoei (Naonobu), inherited the family business. Shoei's son was Eitoku, a master of the Momoyama art world. Motonobu is also highly regarded for creating the style that would become the basis of Eitoku's large-scale painting style. <References> Tsuji Tsuneo, "Kano Motonobu 1-5" (Bijutsu Kenkyu, issues 246, 249, 270-272)

(Yuji Yamashita)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：永禄2.10.6(1559.11.5)
生年：文明8.8.9?(1476.8.28)
室町後期の画家。狩野派の始祖正信の子として山城国(京都府)に生まれる。幼名四郎二郎。大炊助,越前守に任ぜられ,さらに法眼に叙せられた。最も早い作画の記録は永正10(1513)年の「鞍馬寺縁起」の制作で,また,この年に創建された大徳寺大仙院客殿の障壁画制作を,相阿弥と共に一門を率いて担当している。この障壁画の制作年代については近年異説もあるが,永正10年をさほど隔たらない時期のものとみてよい。そのうち「四季花鳥図」(大徳寺大仙院蔵),「禅宗祖師図」(東京国立博物館蔵)は元信自身が手がけたもので,彼の前期の基準作である。その後,天文8(1539)年から22年にかけて,石山本願寺の障壁画制作に携わったことが記録にみえるが,現存しない。後期の基準作としては,天文12年創建の妙心寺霊雲院旧方丈の障壁画がある。大仙院画と同様,一門を率いた工房制作であり,このうち「四季花鳥図」は元信自身が手がけたことが確実な作品である。障壁画制作に顕著にみられるように,元信は一門を組織化し,分業システムを確立,幅広い需要にこたえることに成功した。宋,元,明の中国絵画の様式を幅広く摂取し,周文に代表される従来の室町水墨画の様式を整理,統合し,やまと絵の技法も早くから取り入れ,後世の規範となる厳格な様式を築いた。以後約400年にわたって画壇に君臨する狩野派の基礎を固めた功績では父正信をしのぎ,のちに「古法眼」と呼ばれて神格化される。なお,元信は宮廷絵所預土佐光信の娘を妻にしたという伝承があり,やまと絵を代表する土佐派との交流が推測される。3子をもうけたと伝えられるが,そのうち2子は早世のためか伝記が明らかでなく,3男の松栄(直信)が家督を継いだ。松栄の子が桃山画壇を代表する巨匠永徳である。永徳の大画面様式の母胎となる様式を生み出したという点でも,元信は高く評価される。<参考文献>辻惟雄「狩野元信1～5」(『美術研究』246,249,270～272号)

(山下裕二)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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