Daisen-in(4): Sliding-door paintings created by a top-ranking painter of the time

Each room in Hojo features valuable partition wall paintings created by a superb artist of 500 years ago. 

One such artwork is called Shiki Kacho-zu, literally meaning “Picture of flowers and birds in four seasons,” created by a painter called Kano Motonobu who served as the second head of the renowned Kano school.

 It uses a range of colors to depict not only the texture of plants and rocks, but also the lively movement of birds. 

Another picture is called Shiki Kosaku-zu, literally meaning “Picture of farming in four seasons,” painted by Kano Yukinobu, who was a brother of Kano Motonobu. 

It is an ink painting depicting a landscape of peaceful and idyllic farming scenery. 

The Kano school was a group of painters who played a central role in the world of Japanese painting over a period of 400 years from the 15th century to the 19th century.

 Another painting by Soami, an artist who gave Kano Motonobu advice about painting, also attracts the attention of visitors. 

Soami created a work called Shosho Hakkei-zu, literally meaning “Eight views of the Xiao and the Xiang in China,” which exhibits a beautiful landscape of a Chinese lake in eight different ways. 

Take a moment to truly appreciate these paintings, created by superb painters.