History of painting in Japan

This is the first full-scale art treatise and history book in Japan, written in the early Edo period. It consists of six volumes. Based on the posthumous manuscript of Kano Sansetsu, his son Eino (1634-1700) completed it with additions and supplements with the assistance of Kurokawa Doyu. It begins with an overview of the original paintings, painting officials, painting theory, painting trends, painting styles, and painting subjects, followed by short biographies of 405 painters from ancient times to the present, and finally includes the "Honcho Gain" collection of seal impressions from various artists. It includes a preface by Hayashi Gaho in 1678 (Enpo 6) and was published in 1691 (Genroku 4) under the title "Honcho Gaden," but the title was changed to "Honcho Gashi" two years later. In 1819 (Bunsei 2), Edo connoisseur Hiyama Tansai published "Zoku Honcho Gashi." It is a comprehensive biography of painters, with a strong emphasis on the legitimacy of the Kano school as the basic stance of the editor. This book is also valuable as one of the few systematic writings on Japanese art history, and its wide-ranging content makes it an important document even today for the study of paintings from before the early modern period.

[Reiko Tamamushi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸前期に著されたわが国最初の本格的画論・画史書。全六冊。狩野山雪(かのうさんせつ)の遺稿をもとに、その子永納(えいのう)（1634―1700）が黒川道祐(どうゆう)の援助を得て、増補を加えて完成させた。初めに画原、画官、画考、画運、画式、画題について概説し、次に405人に及ぶ古代から当代に至る画家の小伝を記し、最後に諸家の印影を集めた「本朝画印」を付す。1678年（延宝6）の林鵞峰(はやしがほう)の序文を載せ、91年（元禄4）『本朝画伝』の書名で刊行したが、翌々年に『本朝画史』と改めた。1819年（文政2）には江戸の鑑定家檜山坦斎(ひやまたんさい)によって『続本朝画史』が出版されている。編纂(へんさん)の基本姿勢として狩野派の正統性を強く主張しながら総合的な画家伝となっている。また本書は、数少ない体系的な日本美術史の著述として貴重であり、その多岐にわたる内容は、近世初期以前の絵画を研究するうえで、今日においても重要な文献である。

［玉蟲玲子］

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