Soami

Japanese: 相阿弥 - そうあみ

Year of death: 1525
Year of birth: Unknown. A member of the Ashikaga Shogunate during the late Muromachi period. He was involved in a wide range of arts, including painting, calligraphy and painting appraisal, instruction in zashiki-kazori (traditional Japanese room decoration), and renga (linked poetry). He is also believed to be the creator of many gardens, but there is no definite proof. He was called Kan'gaku and Shinso. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Noami and father Geiami, and was known as "Kokuko Soa" and was highly renowned as a painter. These three generations were later called the San'ami, and in the history of painting they are known as the Ami school. He was also famous as the author of the zashiki-kazori (traditional Japanese room decoration) books "Kimidai Kansochoki" and "Okazari-ki," and was deified in the world of tea ceremony in later generations, but there are many issues remaining regarding his bibliographical research. There are records of his many paintings in "Inryoken Nikki" and "Jitsuraku Koki," but there are few confirmed works that remain. He painted the sliding doors of Daisen-in, a subtemple of Daitoku-ji temple, founded in 1513, together with the Kano school. As Soami painted the most prestigious rooms in the interior and the other rooms were painted by the Kano school, it can be inferred that there was a hierarchical relationship between the two. Motonobu was greatly influenced by Soami's style. The "Four Seasons Landscape Screen" (owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA), which bears the signature of "Kangaku Shinso," is similar to the Daisen-in painting and is therefore certainly a work from a similar period. There are many other landscapes and bird-and-flower paintings that are said to have been painted by Soami, but their authenticity remains a problem. His rich ink-wash technique based on the Bokukei style, which he has inherited since his grandfather Noami, is highly regarded. His disciple Tan'an Chiden and others have many followers of Soami's style, but no direct successor has been confirmed. Because the Doho were closely associated with the Shogun family, it is assumed that the Ami school's paintings declined in step with the decline of the Ashikaga clan's authority. <References> "Complete Collection of Japanese Art Paintings" 6 volumes, "Suiboku Bijutsu Taikei" 6 volumes

(Yuji Yamashita)

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

Japanese:

没年：大永5(1525)
生年：生年不詳
室町後期の足利将軍家の同朋。絵画制作,書画の鑑定,座敷飾の指導,連歌など幅広い技芸に携わった。また,多くの庭園の作者に擬せられているが確証はない。鑑岳と号し,真相と称した。祖父能阿弥,父芸阿弥のあとを継ぎ,「国工相阿」と称されてその画名が高かった。後世この3代を三阿弥と呼び,絵画史の上では阿弥派という。また座敷飾の秘伝書『君台観左右帳記』『御飾記』の筆者として著名であり,後世茶道の世界で神格化されたが,その書誌学的研究については残された課題が多い。『蔭凉軒日録』『実隆公記』などに多くの絵画制作の記録があるが,現存する確実な作品は乏しい。永正10(1513)年創建の大徳寺塔頭大仙院の襖絵を狩野元信一門と共に描いているが,もっとも格式の高い室中を相阿弥が,他の部屋を狩野派が描いていることから,両者の格式の上下関係が推測される。元信は相阿弥の作風から多大な影響を受けている。「鑑岳真相」の落款のある「四季山水図屏風」(米・メトロポリタン美術館蔵)は大仙院画と近似するため,近い時期の確実な作品。その他にも相阿弥筆という伝承の山水図,花鳥図が数多く存在するが,その鑑識については問題を残す。祖父能阿弥以来継承されてきた,牧谿様式に基づく滋潤な水墨技法は高く評価されている。弟子の単庵智伝ほか相阿弥の画風を追随するものは多いが,直接の後継者は確認されない。同朋が将軍家に密着した存在であったがゆえに,足利氏の権威の失墜と歩調をあわせて阿弥派の画業も衰退したと推測される。<参考文献>『日本美術絵画全集』6巻,『水墨美術大系』6巻

(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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