North Island Snow Mountain

A calligrapher in the early Edo period. Born in Kumamoto, Higo. The second son of the doctor Kitajima Soutaku. Commonly known as Sanryu, his pen name was Setsuzan. He also went by the names Setsuzan, Kakeisi, Ran'inryu, and Ransanjin. As a child, he learned calligraphy from Tonando Nisshu of Myoei-ji Temple in Kumamoto. Later, he went to Nagasaki, where he studied calligraphy and Yangmingism under Dokuritsu Seiki (1596-1672) and Sokuhinyoichi (1616-71), who had come to Japan to spread the Obaku sect. He served the Hosokawa family for a time, but was dismissed. In 1677 (Enpo 5), he accompanied Obaku monks to Edo and entered Kaizo-ji Temple in Aoyama, later moving to a residence in Ukiyo-koji, Muromachi. Yukiyama's calligraphy is based on the brushwork of Zhao Ziang of the Yuan dynasty and Wen Zhengming of the Ming dynasty, and he passed on his calligraphy to Hosoi Koutaku and others, becoming highly popular in Edo, especially during the Tenna period (1681-84). He is respected as the founder of Chinese calligraphy, and played a major role as its pioneer. He was an eccentric man, and there are many anecdotes about his life due to his natural love of alcohol.

[Hiroyuki Shimatani]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸初期の書家。肥後熊本の人。医者北島宗宅(そうたく)の二男。通称は三立(さんりゅう)、雪山はその号。ほかに雪参(せつざん)、花谿子(かけいし)、蘭隠立(らんいんりゅう)、蘭山人などと号した。幼時、熊本妙永寺の図南堂日収(となんどうにっしゅう)より書を学んだという。のち長崎に赴き、黄檗(おうばく)宗の布教のため来朝していた独立性易(どくりゅうしょうえき)（1596―1672）、即非如一(そくひにょいち)（1616―71）について書法と陽明学を学んだ。一時細川家に仕えたが罷免され、1677年（延宝5）黄檗僧と同伴して江戸に赴き、青山海蔵寺に入り、のち室町浮世小路の寓居(ぐうきょ)に移った。雪山の書は元(げん)の趙子昂(ちょうすごう)や明(みん)の文徴明(ぶんちょうめい)の筆法を根幹としており、細井広沢(こうたく)らにその書法を伝え、江戸では天和(てんな)年間（1681～84）を中心に大いにもてはやされた。唐様(からよう)書道の祖として尊重されるが、その先駆として大きな役割を果たした。奇行に富んだ生涯で、生来の酒好きから多くの逸話が伝えられる。

［島谷弘幸］

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