The great points of Kaiho Yusho
Great collection of the important cultural properties, the painter whom recognized its talent by the great leaders
Kaiho Yusho is the publicly recognized talented artist of the Azuchi-Momoyama period and the Edo era, as his role was included in NHK taiga drama “Kasukabe Station”. Originally, he came from a samurai family, but started training at the Zen temple after his father’s passing, and then served to a master of the Kano school which became the opportunity to blossom his talent. Since his brothers also died in the war, he tried to live as a samurai after returning to secular life for the rebuilding of Kaito family, but instead, he began to live as a painter by been recognized his talent by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Kaito Yusho’s many wall paintings including the landscape view painting have been the important cultural assets of famous temples such as Myoshin-ji Temple and Kenninji temple in Kyoto, and also many of them are in the collections of the National Museum in Tokyo and Kyoto.
By his drawing style, which he learned at the Zen temple, you can feel both austere refinement and quiet simplicity, and there is naturalness of the deepness and quietness that are far apart from the hustle and bustle of modern times .
Such a tendency is particularly noticeable in a black-and-white ink paintings, and it is drawn with the style which seemingly the silence drifts from paintings.
On the other hand, like the flower painting of Myoshinji Kura, the folding screen painting with gilded leaves has the heaviness and powerfulness which has the atmosphere of Zen Buddhism and the taste that is favored by the powerful people. So you can strongly feel the influence of the family of Kano.
Including the wall painting in Kenninji-Honbou-Daihoujo, Kaito Yusho has many great art works with large scale perspective. So, he is the artist worth checking when visiting a temple in Kyoto or a national museum in Tokyo.
