Who was this person?
A painter of the late Muromachi period and the second head of the Kanō school. Born in Kyoto as the son of Kanō Masanobu, founder of the school, he took commissions from the shōguns, the Hosokawa deputies, temples, shrines and the imperial court. He blended Chinese-style ink painting with the bright colours of yamato-e and organised a workshop in which many pupils could paint to the same standard, laying the foundation for the school's long prosperity.
| Name | Kanō Motonobu (狩野元信) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1476 – 1559 |
| Period | Muromachi period |
| Birthplace | Kyoto |
| Also known as | Ko-Hōgen |
| Main achievements |
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He was born in Kyoto, the son (said to be the eldest or second) of the painter Kanō Masanobu. His childhood name was Shirōjirō. Masanobu was an official painter serving the Muromachi shogunate, skilled in Chinese-style ink painting, and is regarded as the founder of the Kanō school. Motonobu grew up learning to handle the brush in his father's workshop.
Around the age of ten he is said to have entered the close service of the ninth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshihisa, and later to have served Ashikaga Yoshizumi as well. This is thought to have come through his father Masanobu's work for the shogun's house. Inside the shogunate he could learn the tastes and outlook of people of high rank.
He painted a portrait of Hosokawa Sumimoto, of the kanrei house, setting out for battle. It is the earliest of Motonobu's works whose date is clearly known. After the Ōnin War, fighting continued within the Hosokawa clan, and warlords wished to leave pictures of themselves.
Records show that he painted the illustrated history of Kurama-dera on the orders of Hosokawa Takakuni. Around the same time he is said to have painted the murals decorating the rooms of Daisen-in at Daitoku-ji (the date is debated). His Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons, with bright flowers and birds and powerful pines and waterfalls, is regarded as the work that best shows his style.
His father Masanobu died, and Motonobu became the true center of the Kanō school. Besides the shogunate and temples, he sold painted fans to the townspeople of Kyoto and became a leading figure among the fan-making merchants. He was not only a painter but also the head of a workshop that directed many pupils.
From around this time, for about fifteen years, he worked on murals for Ishiyama Hongan-ji in Osaka. The great Jōdo Shinshū temple ordered many works, and Motonobu shared them out among his pupils. As his patrons spread from the shogunate and court to temples and townspeople, the Kanō workshop grew ever larger.
He painted murals for the Kogosho hall of the imperial palace, and around the same time decorated the rooms of Reiun-in at Myōshin-ji in Kyoto. The Reiun-in paintings survive today, showing calm landscapes and birds and flowers mainly in ink. Relied on by both the court and the temples, Motonobu's fame grew.
Around this time he is said to have painted a portrait of the late Hosokawa Takakuni at the request of Hosokawa Ujitsuna. It is thought to have been made for the memorial service on the twelfth anniversary of Takakuni's death. Motonobu thus painted again the man who had given him commissions in his youth. He also excelled at portraits; a work showing the renga poet Sōgi is attributed to him.
Around this time he received the Buddhist rank of hōgen, and was later called Ko-hōgen. He is said to have organized the brushwork of famous Chinese painters into three modes, likened to the formal, semi-cursive and cursive styles of calligraphy, and had his pupils learn them. This system for producing paintings of steady quality even under many orders became the foundation of the later Kanō school.
Around this time he made the Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons screens, with brightly colored flowers and birds on gold ground. They combine powerful Chinese-style brushwork with the rich colors of Yamato-e; he is also said to have married a daughter of the Tosa painter Tosa Mitsunobu. This blend of Japanese and Chinese styles became a great hallmark of the Kanō school.
He died in Kyoto; his grave is at Myōkaku-ji in Kyoto. The workshop system he built and his style uniting Japanese and Chinese painting passed to his son Shōei and his grandson Kanō Eitoku. The Kanō school then remained at the center of Japanese painting for nearly four hundred years, until the end of the Edo period.
A. A painter of the late Muromachi period and the second head of the Kanō school. Born in Kyoto as the son of Kanō Masanobu, founder of the school, he took commissions from the shōguns, the Hosokawa deputies, temples, shrines and the imperial court. He blended Chinese-style ink painting with the bright colours of yamato-e and organised a workshop in which many pupils could paint to the same standard, laying the foundation for the school's long prosperity.
A. Period: Muromachi period. Born in 1476, died in 1559.
A. Kanō Motonobu was born in Kyoto.
A. Motonobu received the Buddhist rank of hōgen. Because later Kanō painters also received this rank, he came to be called "Ko-Hōgen", the "old hōgen", out of respect as the first great hōgen of the school.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)SōgiAshikaga YoshihisaHosokawa TakakuniKanō Eitoku
Hatakeyama MasanagaŌuchi MasahiroSanjōnishi SanetakaAshikaga YoshihisaHosokawa MasamotoAshikaga YoshitaneŌuchi YoshiokiHosokawa Takakuni
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.