Sesshu

Sesshu (ses'shOO") [key], 1420–1506, foremost Japanese master of ink painting (suiboku) and Zen Buddhist priest, also known as Sesshu Toyo. He may have studied under Shubun in Kyoto. He made a trip to China (c.1467), visiting many Zen monasteries and studying the works of old masters. Adapting the Chinese style of landscape painting, he set the standard in ink painting for later Japanese artists. His brilliant, abstract interpretations of nature include the ink-splash landscape (1495) in the National Museum of Tokyo. Two sets of screens attributed to him are in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Freer Gallery, Washington, D.C.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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