Shubun - Sufficiency

Japanese: 周文 - しゅうぶん

Years of birth: unknown. A painter-monk from the mid-Muromachi period. His pen name was Koshi. He served as a capital official (in charge of finances) at Shokoku-ji Temple. He studied painting under Josetsu, and is said to have been the teacher of Sesshu. He was a paid artist under the Muromachi shogunate. Although he is well-known as a painter, he was also involved in the creation of Buddhist statues. In 1430, he was responsible for the coloring of the statue of Bodhidharma Daishi at Daruma-ji Temple in Nara, and in 1439, he was involved in the construction of the Amida Triad and Nio statues at Higashiyama Ungo-ji Temple. His actions recorded in contemporary historical documents are more related to Buddhist statues than paintings. In 1423, he traveled to Korea as part of a mission sent to bring the Tripitaka, and it has been argued that he was influenced by Yi Dynasty paintings. There are few records of his paintings, and all that is known is that in 1582, he painted "Kannon Zenzai Doji" (Portrait of the Bodhisattva Kannon and Child), which was praised by the Tofuku-ji monk Gugyoku Reisai, and that in 1583, his sliding door painting "Plum Blossoms" was presented to Gosuko-in Temple for viewing. There are many works that are said to be by Shubun, but none are recognized by researchers as being authentic. Since the Meiji period, various researchers have been searching for Shubun, but no consensus has yet been reached. In the entry for March 28, 1463 (Kansho 4) in the Inryoken Nichiroku (Inryoken Diary) by Kamesen Shusho, it is written that Oguri Sotan was appointed as an official painter for the shogunate with the same salary as Shubun, so it is assumed that Shubun had already passed away by this time. Since no confirmed works remain, it is difficult to speculate on his style, but it is certain that he was one of the most important figures in the world of ink painting in the early Muromachi period. Among the important traditional works are "Takesai Reading" (Tokyo National Museum), "Light of the Light-Colored Mountains" (private collection), "The Far-reaching Intentions of the River Sky" (Nezu Museum), "Tao Yuanming Admiring Chrysanthemums" (Umezawa Memorial Museum), "Four Seasons Landscape Screen" (Maeda Ikutoku Association), and "Four Seasons Landscape Screen" (Tokyo National Museum). <References> Watanabe Hajime, "Research on Higashiyama Ink Paintings," "Complete Collection of Japanese Art Paintings" 2 volumes, Tamamura Takeji, "Collection of Biographies of the Five Mountain Zen Monks"

(Yuji Yamashita)

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

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
室町中期の画僧。号は越渓。相国寺で都官(財政方面担当)の職にあった。画を如拙に学び,雪舟の師と伝える。室町幕府より俸禄を受ける御用絵師的な立場にあった。画家として著名であるが,仏像の制作にも携わった。永享2(1430)年,奈良達磨寺の達磨大師像の彩色を担当,永享12年東山雲居寺の阿弥陀三尊,仁王像の造立に関与したほか,同時代史料に記録される事跡は,絵画よりも仏像に関するものが多い。応永30(1423)年,大蔵経請来のために派遣された使節団の一員として朝鮮に渡っており,李朝絵画の影響が論じられている。絵画制作に関する記録は乏しく,永享5年「観音善財童子図」を描いて東福寺の僧愚極礼才の賛を得たこと,永享10年「梅図」襖絵が後崇光院の台覧に供されたことなどが知られるに過ぎない。周文筆という伝承の作品は数多いが,確実な真筆として研究者間で認められているものはない。明治以降,諸研究者によって「周文さがし」が行われてきたが,いまだに定説をみるに至っていない。亀泉集証の『蔭凉軒日録』の寛正4(1463)年3月28日の条に,小栗宗湛が周文と同様の俸禄によって幕府の御用絵師に任ぜられたとあるため,この時期にすでに周文は没していたと推測される。確実な作品が残っていないため,その様式を考察するのは困難であるが,室町前期水墨画壇にあって最も重要な存在であることは確かである。有力な伝承作品に「竹斎読書図」(東京国立博物館蔵),「水色巒光図」(個人蔵),「江天遠意図」(根津美術館蔵),「陶淵明賞菊図」(梅沢記念館蔵),「四季山水図屏風」(前田育徳会蔵),「四季山水図屏風」(東京国立博物館蔵)などがある。<参考文献>渡辺一『東山水墨画の研究』,『日本美術絵画全集』2巻,玉村竹二『五山禅僧伝記集成』

(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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