Sesshū

 

This painting has a very distinctive technique used to create a landscape. The technique is called haboku, which means splashed ink or broken ink. This technique became very popular in 1420-1506, because of master Sesshū Tōyō. The painting does not have a name, most know it as “Sesshū”. Medium used for this piece is simply just ink on paper. The scroll is about 148.6 centimeters by 32.7 centimeters. The artist who took influence from Sesshū was named Bokushō. The process they did to create this landscape was by applying wet, dark ink in a rapidly fashion to paper. To get the shapes that were desired, the artist had to have light brush strokes to make the soft, and diffused effect. In the piece there are no harsh lines or forced figures, but still creates a prominent image of a landscape. The haboku technique requires a lot of patience and Zen. Often, the artists who use this technique are Zen Buddhist; they paint this way to celebrate their mindset. The technique is more than just a form to create art, but also a spiritual practice for Buddhist. Because the style reacted by Sesshū Tōyō was very popular during this time, painters made it attraction in literati. Artists would even make seals and signatures that used the splashed ink technique. Eventually, a school was developed called the Unkoku School and the Hasegawa school. Here they educated painters to technique used by Sesshū and the significance of Zen. Many other forms of education celebrated this style and passed it on in a traditional way. This is how Japanese artist embraced a stylistic lineage.

 

https://smarthistory.org/japan-kamakura-azuchi-momoyama/