Perhaps the most audacious work attributed to Sesshu Toyo is a vertical scroll. It is known as Haboku-Sansui. Welcome to the world of 2. Shutsu Painting. This landscape is painted with a technique known as broken ink. It is also called splashed ink or spilled ink. This technique creates works with a remarkable degree of abstraction. It also shows a characteristic freedom of brushwork. With his masterful use of ink, Sesshu was able to create a genuine Japanese style of painting. Haboku-Sansui is a stunning example. This style was continued by many other painters during the following centuries.
Sesshu Toyo, a Japanese painter and Zen priest, lived from 1420 to 1506. He is generally regarded as Japan’s greatest painter. His Zen-inspired paintings are credited with establishing a truly Japanese style of ink painting. This had a great influence on all later Japanese painting.
The Muromachi period profoundly influenced Sesshu. Zen Buddhism had been introduced from China during the Kamakura period. The Chinese-style ink paintings served as models for the Japanese painters. These paintings came from the great masters of the Southern Sung period. These included the landscape painters Ma Yuan and Hsia Kuei. Also the Ch’an painters Mu Ch’i and Yu-chien. These artists derived their style from China. The landscape they represented was also that of South China. This was in spite of the fact that many of them had never been there.
Sesshu was born in Bitchu Province in western Honshu. As a youth he became a Buddhist novice at the Shokoku-ji. This was a well-known Zen temple in Kyoto. It was not only a famous Buddhist sanctuary but a celebrated cultural center as well. At the monastery young Sesshu came under the influence of the famous painter Shubun. Shubun was a fellow monk. He also met the Zen master Shunrin Suto who became his spiritual advisor.
Little is known about Sesshu’s early artistic work. This was prior to his journey to China from 1467 to 1469. During this time he visited Buddhist monasteries. He also traveled as far as Peking. The artist was well received. He was also much impressed by the grandiose landscape. But he was disappointed with the state of painting in Ming China. He thought it compared unfavorably to the painting of the Sung period some two centuries earlier.
Returning to Japan in 1469, Sesshu moved from place to place in northern Kyushu. He did this to avoid the civil war raging in Kyoto. He finally settled in Oita. There he enjoyed the patronage of the Otomo family. His friend Bofu Ryushin commented upon Sesshu’s position at this time. He reported that everyone from the nobility to the common people of Oita admired his painting. They all asked for examples of his work. Between 1481 and 1484 the artist made a long journey through Japan. He visited many parts of the country. He also made numerous sketches of the landscape.
After Sesshu returned to western Japan he settled at Yamaguchi in Suho Province. There he set up the Tenkaitoga-ro studio. He enjoyed the patronage of the Mori family. He spent the remainder of his life at Yamaguchi. He enjoyed ever-growing fame as Japan’s leading artist.
His fame during his lifetime was enormous. Many of his disciples used to sign their own works under the name of Sesshu. This makes the attribution of certain works quite difficult. However, six paintings have been firmly attributed to the master. All of them declared National Treasures in Japan. The most famous of these is the Sansui Chokan. This is a 15 meter scroll depicting the four seasons.
Although Sesshu remained a Buddhist monk all his life, his landscape painting was religious in inspiration. Several of his other works are Zen paintings in a more specific sense. Among these is a large scroll painted in 1496. It depicts Huiko cutting off his arm. He did this to demonstrate his will power to the founder of Zen, Bodhidarma, or Daruma. Both the bold inspired brushwork of the picture and the choice of the subject matter are typical of Zen Buddhist thought. The portrait of Daruma reveals his spiritual power in a masterful way. It has bushy eyebrows and a fierce expression.