Konoe Nobutada

A nobleman from the Momoyama period to the early Edo period. Along with Honami Koetsu and Shokado Shojo, he is one of the Three Great Calligraphers of the Kan'ei period. His father was Sakihisa (his Buddhist name was Ryuzan). His first name was Nobumoto, later he changed it to Nobusuke, and in his mid-30s he took the name Nobutada. He is well known by his posthumous name of Sanmyakuin. As befitting the eldest son of the regent family, he was already promoted to the rank of Junior First Rank Left Minister at the age of 21, but in 1594 (Bunroku 3) at the age of 30, he was exiled to Satsuma. This was the result of going to the headquarters in Nagoya, Hizen, to join Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea. He eventually returned to his post, became the chancellor and head of the clan, and was ranked as one of the three princes. He left behind many works in his handwriting, including letters, and his powerful brush strokes are clean and bold, evoking his personality. His style of calligraphy was called the Sanmyakuin school or Konoe school, after the title of his abbot, and it produced many followers. This is conveyed in his diary, "Sammyakuin-ki." His adopted son Nobuhiro (the fourth son of Emperor Goyozei, whose mother was Nobutada's younger sister) left behind calligraphy that closely resembles Nobutada's.

[Tamiko Oshita]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

桃山時代から江戸初期にかけての公卿(くぎょう)。本阿弥光悦(ほんあみこうえつ)、松花堂昭乗(しょうかどうしょうじょう)と並んで寛永(かんえい)の三筆の一人。父は前久(さきひさ)（法名は龍山）。初名は信基(のぶもと)、のちに信輔(のぶすけ)と改め、そして30代なかばで信尹と名のった。三藐院(さんみゃくいん)の院号で親しまれる。摂関(せっかん)家の嫡男にふさわしく、21歳ですでに従(じゅ)一位左大臣に上ったが、1594年（文禄3）30歳のとき薩摩(さつま)へ配流となる。先の豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の朝鮮出兵に従軍しようと肥前名護屋(なごや)の本営に赴いた結果であった。やがて還任(げんにん)し、関白・氏長者となり、三宮に準じられた。彼は書状をはじめ多数の筆跡を残しているが、その力強い運筆による筆線は、潔く、豪快で、その人柄を彷彿(ほうふつ)とさせる。その書風は院号を冠して三藐院流、あるいは近衛流とよばれ、多くの追随者を輩出した。日記『三藐院記』を伝えている。養嗣子(ようしし)信尋(のぶひろ)（後陽成(ごようぜい)天皇第4皇子で、母は信尹の妹）は、信尹に酷似する書を残す。

［尾下多美子］

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