A retrospective examination of the great Momoyama painter Kanô Sanraku (1559–1635) and his heir and adopted son Kanô Sansetsu (1590–1651) was held from March 30–May 12, 2013 at the Kyoto National Museum. This exhibition was five years in the planning, and its rich content attracted a great deal of attention. The exhibition was divided into six sections: 1. Sanraku, The Founder of the Kyoto Kanô School; 2. From Sanraku to Sansetsu; 3. Masterpieces by Sansetsu from Overseas Collections and Related Works; 4. Experiments in Form, Sansetsu and Nature; 5. Experiments in Form, Sansetsu’s Paintings of Deities, Buddhas and Human Figures; and 6. In the Realm of Sansetsu. There were three times as many works by Sansetsu displayed as by Sanraku, and all four overseas loans to the exhibition were by Sansetsu, reflecting the fact that the exhibition focused mainly on Sansetsu. Nevertheless, the reason that the names of the two painters, father and son, were given equal weight, was emphasized in the exhibition outline in the catalogue by the exhibition planner, Yamashita Yoshiya (then curator, Kyoto National Museum), “In order to understand Sansetsu, one must understand his teacher Sanraku.” (p. 6 of the catalogue). This is because more so than comparing Sanraku and Sansetsu, one must emphasize their connection. A notable feature of the exhibition was the display of the survey notebooks (catalogue numbers 1–4 supplementary materials) by Doi Tsugiyoshi (1906–1991), an art historian who pioneered the study of Sanraku and Sansetsu, alongside the displayed works. These notebooks clearly recorded the comments and careful pencil sketches of the overall work made by Doi on each of the surveyed works, and they also contained photographs of historical materials. When Sansetsu was 60 years old he was embroiled in money troubles, Doi notes that while Sansetsu was innocent he was put into jail. The historical materials, including the record of his trial, clarified the process by which he was imprisoned, and the rediscovered originals of these materials were also displayed in the exhibition. The article by Okudaira Shunroku, “Sansetsu’s Ordeal, and the Idea for Waterfowls and Snowy Shore,” in the catalogue posits that the Waterfowls by Snowy Shore pair of six-panel screens were created to celebrate two festive occasions in the Kujô family, the 77th birthday (Japanese age system) of Sansetsu’s patron and a member of the Kyoto nobility, Kujô Kanetaka (1553–1636), and retirement of his heir Yukiie (1586–1665), and the subsequent assumption of the role of the head of the family by Yukiie’s son Michifusa. According to this theory, this pair of screens was painted in 1629, when Sansetsu was 40 years old (Japanese age system).
展覧会評 狩野山雪・山楽
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