Kanō Kōi

Kanō Kōi: landscape

Kanō Kōi ( Japanese 狩 野 興 以 , real first name Sadanobu ( 定 信 ), first names were Saemon ( 左衛 門 ), Yahē ( 弥 兵衛 ), Yazaemon ( 弥 左衛 門 ); born?; Died August 17, 1636 ) was a Japanese Kanō painter -School during the Azuchi Momoyama and early Edo periods .

life and work

Kanō Kōi is said to come from Ashikaga in Shimotsuke Province (now Tochigi Prefecture ). Other sources suggest a place of birth in the province of Izu or Musashi . He studied painting with Watanabe Ryōkei under Kanō Mitsunobu and became one of his best students. After that, like Yamaguchi Sekkei later , he became a great admirer of the painters Muqi ( Chinese  牧 谿 , Pinyin Mùqī , Japanese Mokkei ; 2nd half of the 13th century) and Sesshū ( 雪 舟 ) and developed his own style on this basis.

After the death of Mitsunobu's younger brother Takanobu in 1618, he took care of the education of Takanobu's sons Tan'yū , Naonobu and Yasunobu . He taught them the technique of traditional ink painting and made a great contribution to the style of the Kanō branches in Edo . For his services he was allowed to use the name Kanō.

Written sources show that Kōi also produced genre painting, such as the depiction of the Battle of Osaka Castle in 1615. He served the Kii branch of the Tokugawa and received an annual salary of 300 koku . He also received the honorary title "Hokkyō". After his death in 1636 he was buried in Shutoku-ji in the Akasaka district of Edo.

Kōi's most famous works are

• the three hanging scrolls depicting a Kannon flanked by a dragon and a tiger ( 観 音 ・ 竜 虎 図 , Kannon, ryūko-zu ; Important Cultural Property of Japan ) owned by the Kempuku-ji in Nagano Prefecture , and
• the screens with landscapes ( 山水 屏風 , Sansui byōbu ) in the National Museum of Tōkyō .

Kōi's sons Kōho ( 興 甫 ), Kōya ( 興 也 ) and Kōshi ( 興 之 ) were also painters and were employed by all three branch families of the Tokugawa.

photos

• 

  Kannon flanked by tigers and dragons

• 

  Flowers and birds, 2

• 

  Flowers and birds, 1

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Owned by the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Remarks

1. ↑ Hokkyō ( 法 橋 ) was originally a title of the priest, but it was later given to artists and scholars.
2. ↑ This type of hanging scroll ensemble is found more frequently in Japanese painting.

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Kanō Kōi . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .
• Laurance P. Roberts: Kōi . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

Commons : Kanō Kōi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Kanō is the family name, Kōi the first name.