Sesshu

A Zen monk and painter-monk from the Muromachi period. His monk rank was Shika. He is one of the great masters in the history of Japanese art, as he made the ink painting technique introduced from China his own and perfected landscape painting. His given name was Toyo. He was born in Akahama (Soja City), Bitchu Province (Okayama Prefecture), and went to Kyoto at a young age, entered Shokoku-ji Temple, and is said to have studied painting under Shunrin Shuto. While training as a Zen monk here, he is thought to have studied painting under Shubun, but there are still many unknowns about his painting history before the age of 40. There is a theory that his predecessor was Sesso Toyo, who left behind ink paintings from roughly the same period, but this has not yet been confirmed. The pen name "Sesshu" is a reference to the two main characters of the calligraphy "Sesshu" by the famous Yuan dynasty monk Soseki Bonki, who was his treasured possession, and since his friend, the monk Ryuko Shinkei, came up with the theory that it was the two characters Sesshu around 1462 (Kansho 3), it is believed that he used this pen name from that time on. His achievements can be traced back in scattered chunks after that, but it seems that by 1464 he had already left Kyoto and was living in Yamaguchi, where he was under the patronage of Ouchi Norihiro, the shugo daimyo of Suo Province (Yamaguchi Prefecture), and ran a studio called Unkokuan. The reason why Sesshu came to Yamaguchi was probably because he wanted to see with his own eyes the Chinese Song and Yuan ink paintings that he had always admired, and so he established himself under the domain of the Ouchi clan, who had active exchanges with the Ming dynasty at the time, and waited for an opportunity to travel to China.

In the spring of 1467 (Onin 1), at the age of 48, he finally boarded the Ming ship "Teramaru" and traveled to China, passing through Ningbo and on to Beijing. During this time he learned about the true traditions of the famous families of the area, observed nature and the scenery, and in Beijing, by order of the emperor, he took up his brush to paint a mural in the Ritesbuin temple, which won widespread praise. He was also highly regarded as a Zen monk, and was recommended to be the first seat of Shimei Tendō-san. Sesshū seems to have been proud of this title throughout his life, and even until his later years he added "Shimei Tendō-san" to his signature. He stayed in China for three years, and returned to Japan via Ningbo in 1469 (Bunmei 1). He seems to have been influenced by the Chinese painting world of the time, especially by Chang Yousheng, Li Zai, and Taka Yanqing, as he himself said, and it is said that he learned the techniques of setting colors and breaking ink from them, and his experience in China would later bring about great results for Sesshū. The Four Seasons Landscape (Tokyo National Museum) is thought to have been produced while he was in Ming China, as the inscription reads "Japanese Zen master Toyo," and it is a valuable work that gives us an insight into his studies.

He seems to have been located in Oita in 1476, where he opened a studio called Tenkai Togaro. Thereafter, he wandered around various places, including Mino (Gifu prefecture) and Dewa (Yamagata prefecture), and painted landscape paintings such as "Chinda Bakuzu" (Oita prefecture) and "Yamadera Zu" (Yamagata prefecture) (copies of these works have been preserved). In 1886, at the age of 67, he produced his lifetime masterpiece, "Landscapes of the Four Seasons (Long Scroll)" (National Treasure, Hofu Mori Hokokai, Yamaguchi Prefecture), and in 1895 (Meiō 4), at the age of 76, he painted "Broken Ink Landscapes" (National Treasure, Tokyo National Museum), which he gave to his disciple Soen as a token of his teaching of painting techniques, and the following year, in 1896, he painted the large-scale work "Eka Danpi" (Sainenji Temple, Aichi Prefecture), which shows that he never lost his strong creative drive even in his later years. Furthermore, based on the design of "Amanohashidate" (National Treasure, Kyoto National Museum), it is believed that the landscape was depicted after 1501 (Bunki 1). Sesshū was 82 years old that year, and it is thought that he probably visited the area. He was a painter with an astonishingly strong will and healthy physique.

His style, while following the traditions of Josetsu and Zhou Wen, also incorporated the styles of Song and Yuan painters such as Ma Yuan, Xia Gui, Li Tang, Liang Kai, Muqi, and Gyokukan, and was established based on his own experience of entering the Ming Dynasty. The essence of his style can be seen in the crisp lines drawn with a bald brush and the solidly constructed composition with depth. A prime example of his work is his several ink-wash landscape paintings, which go far beyond the traditional hobby of Zen monks and are elevated to rigorous works of art with strong self-expression. It can be said that Sesshu's achievements in the history of Japanese landscape ink-wash painting were truly great.

In addition to the works mentioned above, his representative works include "Autumn and Winter Landscapes" (National Treasure, Tokyo National Museum), "Four Seasons Landscapes" (Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo), "Landscapes" (National Treasure, Ohara Family, Kyoto) which contains inscriptions by Bokusho Shusei and Ryoan Keigo, and "Landscape Scroll" (Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art), as well as gardens said to have been designed by Sesshu.

It is said that there was a portrait of Sesshu made when he was 71 years old (a portrait of longevity), but unfortunately it has not survived. Instead, we can get an idea of ​​his appearance and character from a copy drawn by Unkoku Toeki (Joyo-ji Temple, Yamaguchi Prefecture) and a copy in the collection of the Fujita Museum of Art in Osaka.

[Satoru Sakakibara]

"Sesshu Touyou" by Kumagai Nobuo (1958, University of Tokyo Press)" ▽ "Sesshu Touyou Theory: His Personality and Works" by Hasumi Shigeyasu (1961, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Japanese Art 100: Sesshu" by Matsushita Takaaki (1974, Shibundo)" ▽ "Complete Collection of Japanese Art Paintings 4: Sesshu" by Nakamura Keio (1980, Shueisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

室町時代の禅僧、画僧。僧位は知客(しか)。中国から渡来した水墨画の技法を自己のものとし、山水画を大成した画人として、日本美術史上の巨匠の一人。諱(いみな)は等楊(とうよう)。備中(びっちゅう)国（岡山県）赤浜（総社(そうじゃ)市）に生まれ、幼少にして上洛(じょうらく)、相国寺(しょうこくじ)に入り、春林周籐(しゅんりんしゅうとう)についたといわれる。ここで禅僧としての修行を積むかたわら、画を周文に学んだと考えられるが、40歳以前の画歴にはなお不明の点が多い。ほぼ同時代に水墨画の遺作をもつ拙宗等揚をその前身とする説があるが、いまだ確定をみていない。「雪舟」の号は、愛蔵していた元(げん)の名僧楚石梵琦(そせきぼんき)の墨跡「雪舟」の二大字にちなみ、1462年（寛正3）ごろに友僧龍崗真圭(りゅうこうしんけい)が雪舟二字説をつくっていることから、これ以降この号を用いたとみられる。その後とびとびながらもその事績をたどることができるが、64年にはすでに京を離れて山口に住んでいたらしく、周防(すおう)国（山口県）の守護大名大内教弘(おおうちのりひろ)の庇護(ひご)を受けて、雲谷庵(うんこくあん)とよぶ画室を営んでいる。雪舟が山口に下った理由は、おそらく、日ごろあこがれていた中国宋(そう)・元の水墨画を自分の目で見たいがために、当時明(みん)との往来が盛んであった大内氏の領下に身を置き、中国へ渡る機会をうかがったためと考えられる。

　1467年（応仁1）48歳の春、ついに遣明船「寺丸」に便乗して入明、寧波(ニンポー)を経て北京(ペキン)に上った。この間かの地の名家の真跡を学び、自然と風物を観察、北京では皇帝の命により礼部院の壁画に筆をとり、広く賞賛を得た。また禅僧としても高い評価を与えられ、四明天童山の第一座に推された。この称号に雪舟は生涯誇りを抱いていたようで、晩年までその落款(らっかん)に「四明天童第一座」と加えている。滞明は3年に及び、69年（文明1）に寧波経由で帰国した。当時の中国画壇、とくに自らも述べているように長有声(ちょうゆうせい)、李在(りざい)、高彦敬(こうがんけい)などから影響を受けたようで、彼らに就いて設色と破墨の法を学んだといい、入明体験はその後の雪舟に大きな成果をもたらすことになった。『四季山水図』（東京国立博物館）は、款記に「日本禅人等楊」とあるところから在明中の制作と考えられ、そうした彼の学習の跡をうかがううえで貴重な作である。

　1476年には大分にあったようで、ここで天開図画楼(てんかいとがろう)という画房を開き、以後、美濃(みの)（岐阜県）、出羽(でわ)（山形県）など各地を漂泊、『鎮田瀑(ちんだばく)図』（大分県）や『山寺図』（山形県）などの真景図を描いた（これらの作品は模本が残されている）。86年67歳のとき、畢生(ひっせい)の名作『四季山水図（山水長巻）』（国宝、山口県・防府毛利(ほうふもうり)報公会）を制作し、さらに95年（明応4）には、76歳で弟子宗淵(そうえん)に画法伝授の印(しるし)として与えた『破墨山水図』（国宝、東京国立博物館）を描き、翌96年にも大作『慧可断臂(えかだんぴ)図』（愛知県・斎年寺）に筆をふるっていることから、晩年に至るまで旺盛(おうせい)な制作意欲を失わなかったことがわかる。また『天橋立(あまのはしだて)図』（国宝、京都国立博物館）は描かれた図様から1501年（文亀1）以降の景観を写したと考証される。この年雪舟は実に82歳で、おそらく当地を訪れたと考えられ、驚嘆すべき強靭(きょうじん)な意志と壮健な肉体とをもった画家であった。

　その作風は、如拙(じょせつ)、周文の系統を引きながら、これに馬遠(ばえん)、夏珪(かけい)、李唐(りとう)、梁楷(りょうかい)、牧谿(もっけい)、玉澗(ぎょくかん)ら宋・元画家たちの画風を取り入れ、さらに自己の入明体験をもとに樹立されたもので、禿筆(とくひつ)を使ったきびきびした描線と、奥行のある強固に構築された構図法に真骨頂をみることができる。その端的な作例がいくつかの水墨山水画で、それは従来の禅僧の余技的な域を遠く乗り越えて、強い自己表出性をもった、厳しい芸術作品にまで高められている。日本の山水水墨画史上雪舟の果たした功績は、まことに偉大であったというべきだろう。

　代表作として、前記の作品以外には、『秋冬山水図』（国宝、東京国立博物館）、『四季山水図』（東京・ブリヂストン美術館）、図中に牧松周省(ぼくしょうしゅうせい)、および了庵桂悟(りょうあんけいご)賛のある『山水図』（国宝、京都大原家）、『山水図巻』（山口県立美術館）などがあり、庭園にも雪舟作庭と伝えるものがある。

　なお雪舟の肖像画は、71歳のときの自画像（寿像）があったとされるが、残念ながら伝存せず、雲谷等益(うんこくとうえき)筆の模本（山口県常栄寺）や大阪・藤田美術館所蔵の模本などで、その風貌(ふうぼう)や人となりをしのぶことができる。

［榊原　悟］

『熊谷宣夫著『雪舟等楊』（1958・東京大学出版会）』▽『蓮実重康著『雪舟等楊論　その人間像と作品』（1961・筑摩書房）』▽『松下隆章著『日本の美術100　雪舟』（1974・至文堂）』▽『中村溪男著『日本美術絵画全集4　雪舟』（1980・集英社）』

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