Tosa Mitsunobu
Worked as azukari in the bakufu (military government) Painting Office, and brought the Tosa School to its apogee 1434?-1525?
Tosa Mitsunobu was a painter of the Muromachi period. He founded the Tosa School, one of the main schools of the Yamato-e style of painting. Along with Tosa Mitsunaga and Tosa Mitsuoki, he was also one of the three great artists of the Tosa School. The adopted son of Tosa Hirochika, he was actually the son of Tosa Mitsuhiro.
In 1469 Tosa Mitsunobu was appointed azukari of the Painting Office, a position responsible for receiving orders for paintings and managing the Painting Office. This is according to a migyosho (a letter of instruction to inferiors) by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the eighth shogun of the Muromachi bakufu. For the rest of his life, Mitsunobu worked in this position while continuing to advance.
In 1501 he rose to junior fourth rank, lower grade, the highest rank possible for a painter. In addition, he was active as a painter for the bakufu, painting for the bakufu court, aristocrats, the shogunal family, local daimyo, temples and shrines. He thus brought the Tosa School to its apogee.
Through a linked verse poetry group, he associated with men of culture of his day including: Sanjonishi Sanetaka (known for his Sanetaka koki [The Diary of Sanetaka]), Kanroji Chikanaga, and Nakamikado Nobutane. Finally, he left us with many refined works appreciated by people of culture, including works that take their themes from The Tale of Genji.
Related Galleries
Books
Related Works
Works of the Tosa School of Painting
Institutions Holding Related Materials
京都市東山区の寺院。重文「後円融天皇像」を所蔵する。
光信が手がけた重文「北野天神縁起絵巻」を所蔵する。
The National Diet Library (NDL), founded in 1948, is the library which belongs to the Diet. The NDL assists the activities of the National Diet. The Library collects and conserves materials and information both from Japan and abroad, serving as a foundation of knowledge and culture and providing library services to administrative and judicial entities and Japanese citizens.
Kyoto National Museum collects, preserves, displays, researches and provides educational programs focusing on cultural properties from Heian- through to Edo- period Japan, when the capital was located there.
As Japan’s representative museum, Tokyo National Museum collects, preserves, displays, and researches the cultural properties of Asia with a focus on Japan, and also provides educational programs.
External Links
早稲田大学図書館所蔵の古典籍を公開。伝土佐光信「七十一番歌合」を閲覧することができる。
アメリカのハーバード大学美術館のコレクションデータベース。「源氏物語画帖」などを閲覧することができる。
References
- 日立デジタル平凡社,平凡社
- 稲本万里子 著,森話社
- 稲本万里子, 木村朗子, 龍澤彩 執筆,田口榮一 監修,東京美術