Tawaraya Sotatsu

Years of birth and death unknown. Painter from the Momoyama to early Edo period. His origins and biography are unclear, but he is known to have been active from around 1600 (Keicho 5) to the 1630s. He used the "Inen" seal for a time, and in his later years he mainly used the "Taisei" or "Taiseiken" seals. He is thought to have been one of the upper class townspeople of Kyoto, and is believed to have had close ties with the nobleman Karasuma Mitsuhiro, the tea master Sen no Shoan, and Honami Koetsu, who was renowned as a calligrapher, potter, and lacquer artist. He is thought to have started out as the head of a painting studio (under the trade name "Tawaraya") that mainly produced craft work such as sketches and fan paintings. The decoration of the cover and endpapers of "Heike Nokyo" (National Treasure, Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima), which was partially restored in 1602 (Keicho 7), is thought to be his early work, and up until around 1615 (Genwa 1), he made many gold and silver paint sketches on colored paper and waka scrolls written by Koetsu. All of these make use of gold and silver paint in large designs, which are groundbreaking as paper decorations, and one of these, such as "Waka Scroll of Flowers of the Four Seasons" (Important Cultural Property, Hatakeyama Memorial Museum, Tokyo), is stamped with a circular seal reading "Ichinen," indicating that he used this seal for a time. However, there are many other similar items stamped with this seal, and it is understood to be the seal of a group including Sotatsu himself. For the rebuilt Yogen-in Temple in Kyoto in 1898, he produced the large-scale works Pine Trees and Strange Beasts (both Important Cultural Property), and in 1899 (Kan'ei 7), he painted three pairs of gold folding screens at the command of the retired Emperor Gomizunoo, and in the same year, he copied the "Saigyo Monogatari Emaki" (The Tale of Saigyo Illustrated Scroll) at the Imperial Court, and the colophon on the screen reveals that he was already a highly-ranked painter at that time. During his time as a Hokkyo, Sotatsu devoted himself to the creation of folding screen paintings, leaving behind masterpieces such as "Wind Gods and Thunder Gods" (National Treasure, Kennin-ji Temple, Kyoto), "Matsushima" (Freer Gallery of Art, Washington), "Sekiya Miotsukushi" (National Treasure, Seikado Temple, Tokyo), and "Bugaku" (Important Cultural Property, Daigo-ji Temple, Kyoto). All of these works make use of bold compositions and vivid colors on gold backgrounds, and are recognized as establishing a new decorative painting style that replaced the Momoyama Shohei-ga (screen paintings with partitions). On the other hand, ink painting, with its gentle and elegant style that respects subtle changes in ink tone, opened up a world of Japanese ink painting that was different from that of Chinese painting. There are many excellent works, such as "Waterfowl in a Lotus Pond" (National Treasure, Kyoto National Museum) by "Inen", "Reed Ducks and a Folding Screen" (Important Cultural Property, Daigoji Temple, Kyoto), and "Cows" (Important Cultural Property, Chomyoji Temple, Kyoto).

His free stance as a town painter allowed him to create lively, innovative and unique forms without being bound by the formats of existing schools, and he created unique compositions and designs that suited various screen formats such as colored paper, scrolls, folding fans and screens. He also invented the technique of "tarashikomi" (a technique of painting with a thin layer of paint) which enabled him to express new textures through the diverse changes in colored surfaces with a smudged look. While he painted natural flowers, birds and plants, he also looked back to the classics and sought subject matter in narrative paintings, and he often took designs from old picture scrolls and revived them in his own paintings. His style was also fundamentally strongly rooted in the traditions of Yamato-e, and he is well known as a revivalist of Yamato-e in the early modern period.

Many of Sotatsu's followers and successors followed the style of painting using the "Inen" seal, and Ogata Korin, who lived in the mid-Edo period, was deeply devoted to his art and perfected the style. This decorative painting style, which was founded by Sotatsu and further developed by Korin, is generally called the Rinpa school or the Sotatsu-Korin school, and flourished throughout the Edo period.

[Yasushi Murashige]

"Complete Collection of Japanese Art Paintings 14: Tawaraya Sotatsu" by Hashimoto Ayako and Minamoto Toyomune (1976, Shueisha) " "Japanese Art 18: Sotatsu and Korin" by Yamane Yuzo (1970, Shogakukan) " "Japanese Art 18: Sotatsu and Korin" by Mizuo Hiroshi (1980, Heibonsha) " "Treasures of Japanese Art 19: Koetsu and Sotatsu" by Nakamachi Keiko (1983, Shogakukan)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。桃山から江戸初期の画家。出身・伝記はつまびらかでないが、およそ1600年（慶長5）ごろから1630年代にかけての活躍がうかがえる。一時「伊年(いねん)」印を用い、晩年は「対青」または「対青軒」印をもっぱらとした。京都の上層町衆(まちしゅう)の1人と思われ、公卿烏丸光広(くぎょうからすまみつひろ)や茶人千少庵(せんのしょうあん)、書・陶芸・漆芸家として名高い本阿弥光悦(ほんあみこうえつ)らとの親密な交際が推定される。画業は、初め下絵や扇面画などの工芸的な仕事を主とした作画工房の絵屋（屋号「俵屋」）の主宰者であったと考えられる。1602年（慶長7）に一部修復された『平家納経』（国宝、広島・厳島(いつくしま)神社）の表紙・見返しの装飾は彼の早い時期の仕事とみられ、また15年（元和1）ごろまでは光悦書の色紙や和歌巻に金銀泥(きんぎんでい)の下絵を多く描いている。いずれも大柄の図様に金銀泥を駆使し、料紙装飾として画期的なものであるが、これらのうち『四季草花図和歌巻』（重文、東京・畠山(はたけやま)記念館）などには「伊年」の円印が押され、一時期この印を用いたことがわかる。一方、同印を押した類品はほかにも多種あり、宗達自身を含めたグループの印と解される。21年に再建された京都・養源院には松図襖(ふすま)、異獣図杉戸（ともに重文）の大作を制作し、30年（寛永7）には後水尾(ごみずのお)上皇の命により三双の金屏風(きんびょうぶ)を描き、また同年には宮中の『西行(さいぎょう)物語絵巻』を模写し、その奥書から当時すでに画家として高い地位の法橋(ほっきょう)であったことがわかる。法橋時代の宗達は屏風絵の制作に心血を注ぎ、『風神雷神図』（国宝、京都・建仁寺）をはじめ、『松島図』（ワシントン、フリーア美術館）、『関屋澪標(せきやみおつくし)図』（国宝、東京・静嘉堂(せいかどう)）、『舞楽図』（重文、京都・醍醐(だいご)寺）などの傑作を残している。いずれも大胆な構図と金地に鮮麗な彩色を生かし、桃山障屏画(しょうへいが)にかわる新しい装飾画様式の確立が認められる。一方、水墨画は墨調の微妙な変化を尊んだ温雅な画風をもって、漢画のそれとは異なる日本的な墨画の世界を開いた。「伊年」印の『蓮池水禽(れんちすいきん)図』（国宝、京都国立博物館）や、『芦鴨図衝立(あしかもずついたて)』（重文、京都・醍醐寺）、『牛図』（重文、京都・頂妙寺）など優れた作品が少なくない。

　町絵師としての自由な立場は、既成流派の形式にとらわれることなく、生き生きとした斬新(ざんしん)でユニークな造形を生み、色紙、巻子(かんす)（巻物）、扇面、障屏と各種の画面形式に応じた独特の構図と意匠をつくりだしている。また技法的にも「たらし込み」の手法を創案して滲(にじ)みをもった色面の多彩な変化によって新しい質感の表現を可能にした。画題のうえでは自然の花鳥、草花を描く一方、古典を顧みて物語絵に題材を求め、とくに古い絵巻などから図様を取り出して、自らの絵に蘇生(そせい)させる例はしばしばみられる。その画風も基本的には大和(やまと)絵の伝統に強く根ざすものであり、近世初期における大和絵の復興者としての名声が高い。

　なお、宗達の周辺や後継には「伊年」印を用いた画風の追随者が多く輩出し、また江戸中期の尾形光琳(こうりん)は彼の芸術に深く傾倒してその様式を大成させている。宗達が創始し、光琳によって新展開されたこの装飾画の流れは一般に琳派または宗達光琳派とよばれ、江戸時代を通じて繁栄をみた。

［村重　寧］

『橋本綾子・源豊宗執筆『日本美術絵画全集14　俵屋宗達』（1976・集英社）』▽『山根有三著『日本の美術18　宗達と光琳』（1970・小学館）』▽『水尾比呂志著『日本の美術18　宗達と光琳』（1980・平凡社）』▽『仲町啓子著『名宝日本の美術19　光悦・宗達』（1983・小学館）』

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