Rinpa

The Sōtatsu-Kōrin school is also known as the Sōtatsu-Kōrin school. It is a school of decorative painting that flourished throughout the Edo period. It was founded by Tawaraya Sōtatsu in the early Edo period and perfected by Ogata Kōrin in the mid-Edo period, and sometimes includes the arts of Hon'ami Kōetsu and Ogata Kenzan, who were closely related to them. Unlike the Kano and Tosa schools, the Sōtatsu-Kōrin school was not a patron of the shogunate or imperial court, and did not have a hereditary system. It was established mainly through private admiration and influence. It pursued the decorative and design beauty that exists in the traditions of Japanese art with a new modern sensibility, and its art was accepted and developed by various classes of people, including nobles, daimyo, and townspeople, and has also had a significant influence on the world of modern Japanese painting and craft design.

Sotatsu was a town painter in Kyoto, and initially focused on design-oriented painting such as sketches for calligraphy paper and fan paintings, creating groundbreaking designs with a strong painterly quality. From middle age onwards, he began producing large-scale paintings, leaving behind many excellent folding screen paintings, while also pioneering a unique world of Japanese ink painting by making use of the soft tones of ink in ink painting. He copied medieval picture scrolls to learn from the classics of Yamato-e painting, and also worked to absorb new subjects. Sotatsu's favorite narrative paintings and flower-and-bird paintings, centered on flowers and plants, became the main subjects of this school, and most painters actively took up their subjects. The "tarashikomi" technique that he invented was also inherited by his successors as the most important technique that characterizes the paintings of this school. Even in the bold compositions and innovative designs, the traditional spirit of respecting the beauty of Japanese styles that has existed since the imperial era remains intact, and this art was welcomed by the nobles and upper-class townspeople of the time.

Koetsu, who produced many collaborative works in calligraphy and painting with Sotatsu, is thought to have had a close relationship and it is believed that they influenced each other's artistic style and helped them grow. While he is known as a calligrapher, he was also active in the fields of ceramics and lacquerware, and the bold and clear designs of his Koetsu maki-e (lacquer ware) in particular had a major influence on the later Korin. Sotatsu's successor was Tawaraya Sosetsu, who is thought to have moved to Kaga (Ishikawa Prefecture) in later years, and from then on a derivative style of floral painting using the "Ichinen" seal became popular in this region.

Born in the middle of the Edo period to a family of kimono merchants in Kyoto, Korin was blessed with a keen sense of form, perhaps due to his descendants in the Honnami family, and was active in both painting and design. He was particularly devoted to learning from Sotatsu in painting, but he further extracted and developed Sotatsu's innovative decorativeness, developing a new style of design. Although he started out as a full-fledged painter late, he produced many masterpieces in the short period before his death. He also designed crafts such as lacquerware, dyed and woven textiles, and pottery, and his sophisticated designs were loved by the world and called "Korin patterns" and "Korin designs." In the backdrop of the social climate of the Genroku period (1688-1704), which favored extravagance, Korin's achievement of integrating painting and design with a keen sense of aesthetics to create highly advanced decorative arts is great. Korin's younger brother Kenzan is known as a potter, but his true talent was in gorgeous color painting rather than pottery making techniques, and in his later years he left behind many paintings based on waka poetry. After Korin, many people followed his style of painting, including Watanabe Shiko, Fukae Roshu, Tatebayashi Shikagei, and Nakamura Hochu. All but Shiko were active mainly in Edo, and the stage of the later Rinpa school shifted to the East. Sakai Hoitsu, who appeared in the Bunka and Bunsei periods (1804-1830), was deeply fascinated by Korin and aspired to revive his art, but he also left behind elegant decorative paintings that were in keeping with the world of haiku poetry, which was Korin's forte. His pupil Suzuki Kiitsu gradually left his master's style behind, and became a unique figure within the Rinpa school, with his unique style of painting that persistently pursued the clear form of the subject. Other well-known names among Hoitsu's disciples include Suzuki Reitan, Sakai Ouho, and Ikeda Koson.

[Yasushi Murashige]

"Yamane Yuzo (ed.), "Primary Color Japanese Art 14: Sotatsu and Korin" (1969, Shogakukan)" ▽ "Tokyo National Museum (ed.), "Rinpa" (1973, Benrido)" ▽ "Yamakawa Takeshi (ed.), "Complete Collection of Japanese Art 21: Rinpa - Koetsu, Sotatsu, Korin" (1979, Gakken)" ▽ "Murashige Yasushi (ed.), "Art Japanesque 14: Rinpa Design" (1982, Kodansha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

宗達光琳派(そうたつこうりんは)ともいう。江戸時代を通じて栄えた装飾画の流派。江戸初期の俵屋(たわらや)宗達が創始、中期の尾形(おがた)光琳が大成したもので、彼らと関係の深い本阿弥光悦(ほんあみこうえつ)、尾形乾山(けんざん)らの工芸を含めて扱う場合もある。狩野(かのう)派・土佐派のような幕府や宮廷の御用絵師ではなく、また世襲の制度をもたず、主として私淑・影響関係によって画系が成立している。日本の美術の伝統に存する装飾美・意匠美を近世の新しい感覚で追求し、その芸術は公卿(くぎょう)、大名、町衆（町人）の諸層に受け入れられて発展を遂げ、また近代の日本画・工芸意匠の世界にも少なからぬ影響を与えている。

　宗達は京都の町絵師で、初めは書の料紙の下絵や扇面画(せんめんが)などのデザイン的な画事をもっぱらとし、絵画性の強い画期的な意匠をつくりあげる。中年以後は大画面制作を手がけて優れた屏風(びょうぶ)絵を数多く残す一方、水墨画にも柔らかい墨調を生かして独自の日本的な墨画の世界を開拓した。中世の絵巻を模写して大和(やまと)絵の古典に学び、また題材の摂取に努める。宗達の好んで用いた物語絵と草花を中心とした花鳥画は、以後この派の主要な画題となり、ほとんどの画家が積極的に取り上げている。また彼の創案した「たらし込み」の手法も、同派の絵画を特徴づけるもっとも重要な技法として後継の諸作家によって継承された。大胆な構図と斬新(ざんしん)な意匠のなかにも、王朝以来の和様の美しさを尊重する伝統精神が貫かれ、その芸術は当時の公卿や上層の町衆たちに迎えられた。

　宗達と書画の合作を多数残している光悦は、親しい関係にあったとみられ、互いに造形上の影響を及ぼし合い成長したと考えられる。彼は能書家として知られる一方、陶芸・漆芸の方面でも活躍し、ことに光悦蒔絵(まきえ)の大胆・明快なデザインは、後の光琳にも大きな影響を与えている。宗達の後継者には俵屋宗雪(そうせつ)がいるが、彼は後年加賀（石川県）に移住したとみられ、以後この地方に「伊年」の印を用いた亜流の草花絵が流行する。

　江戸中期ごろ京都の呉服商の家に生まれた光琳は、本阿弥家の血を引くこともあってか、優れた造形感覚に恵まれ、絵画、デザインの両面に活躍する。ことに絵画は宗達に傾倒して学ぶところ多いが、その斬新な装飾性をさらに抽出、発展させて、より新しい造形様式を展開させる。本格的な画家としての出発は遅いが、没するまでの短い期間に多くの傑作を描き残している。また漆器、染織、陶器などの工芸品にも意匠を施し、その洗練されたデザインは世に「光琳模様」「光琳意匠」と称して愛好された。華美を好む元禄(げんろく)（1688～1704）の世相を背景に、鋭い美意識をもって絵画性と意匠性を統合して高度な装飾芸術をつくりあげた業績は大きい。光琳の弟乾山は陶芸家として知られるが、作陶技術よりもむしろ華やかな色絵付に本領があり、また晩年は和歌を題材とした絵画作品を多く残している。光琳以後、その絵画の追随者は多く、渡辺始興(しこう)、深江蘆舟(ふかえろしゅう)、立林何(たてばやしかげい)、中村芳中(ほうちゅう)らが輩出、始興以外はおおかた江戸を中心に活躍し、琳派後期の舞台は東に移行する。文化・文政(ぶんかぶんせい)期（1804～30）に出た酒井抱一(ほういつ)は、光琳に深く心酔してその芸術の再興を志すが、むしろ彼の得意とした俳諧(はいかい)の世界にも通じる粋(すい)で、風雅な装飾画を残している。その門人の鈴木其一(きいつ)はしだいに師風を離れ、対象の明晰(めいせき)な形を執拗(しつよう)に追求する特異な作画をもって、琳派のなかでも異色の存在をなしている。このほか抱一の門流には鈴木蠣潭(れいたん)、酒井鶯蒲(おうほ)、池田孤邨(こそん)らの名が知られる。

［村重　寧］

『山根有三編『原色日本の美術14　宗達と光琳』（1969・小学館）』▽『東京国立博物館編『琳派』（1973・便利堂）』▽『山川武編『日本美術全集21　琳派――光悦・宗達・光琳』（1979・学習研究社）』▽『村重寧編著『アート・ジャパネスク14　琳派の意匠』（1982・講談社）』

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