KAIHO YUSHO

born 1533, Omi province, Japan died March 1, 1615, Kyoto major Japanese screen painter of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Born into a military family, Yusho entered the priesthood after he came to Kyoto. He initially studied under a Kano artist (probably Eitoku) but later established his own independent school of painting. He was famous during his lifetime, and his patrons included Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the emperor Go-Yozei. Yusho was adept both in the rich, colourful painting style developed by Eitoku and in the more subdued monochromatic ink tradition of the Zen priest-painters. When doing figures in the latter style (e.g., his pictures of Chinese sages), he used a genpitsu (reduced brushstrokes) technique reminiscent of Liang K'ai, an early-13th-century Chinese painter whose work was popular in Japan. These portraits are called fukuro-e after the loosely defined garments that seem to hang like voluminous sacks upon the figures. Some of Yusho's work can be seen in the Myoshin Temple in Kyoto and in the Kyoto Onishi Museum of Art. His Kano-style screen paintings are notable for their graceful lines (e.g., Plum Tree, in the Kennin Temple, Kyoto) and brilliant colour harmonies (e.g., Fishing Nets, in the Tokyo National Museum), qualities that influenced later artists.