Hasegawa Tōhaku – Legendary Painter
Intense Rivalries Among Painters in Kyoto’s Art World
The Noto Peninsula earthquake in January 2024 caused significant damage, and over a year later, the area is still recovering. Yet, historically, this very region has produced one of Japan’s greatest painters, whom I deeply admire: Hasegawa Tōhaku (長谷川等伯, 1539–1610). Born in Nanao, Noto Province (present-day Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture), Tōhaku was adopted into the Hasegawa family, who ran a textile dyeing business, and quickly revealed his artistic talent by painting Buddhist images and portraits in his hometown.
Unsatisfied with his local success, Tōhaku decided to move to Kyoto following the deaths of his adoptive parents. At the time, Kyoto’s art scene was dominated by two powerful schools: the Kano school and the Tosa school, both boasting deep-rooted traditions dating back to the Muromachi period (1336–1573). As a newcomer from a provincial area, there seemed to be no place for Tōhaku among these established elites. Nevertheless, at the age of 33, Tōhaku bravely journeyed to Kyoto alone, quietly establishing himself as a painter based at Honpō-ji Temple (本法寺), affiliated with the Nichiren sect, his family’s temple. During this solitary period, influential tea masters such as Sen no Rikyū and Tsuda Sōgyū began praising and supporting his talents through the mediation of Nittsū Shōnin, the head priest of Honpō-ji. Thanks to their support, Tōhaku was able to steadily gain new opportunities despite intense pressure from the Kano and Tosa schools.
However, Tōhaku soon realized that the traditional style he had cultivated in Noto was insufficient to succeed in Kyoto’s competitive environment. He devoted himself to meticulously studying and absorbing the style of the Kano school—the elite artistic circle of the day—to refine his own artistic expression. Through these dedicated efforts and the connections he developed, Tōhaku gradually began to stand out in Kyoto.
Yet, Kyoto at that time was dominated by Kano Eitoku (狩野永徳, 1543–1590), a prodigious painter who represented the pinnacle of the Kano lineage. Supported by powerful Shogun such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Kano school enjoyed unparalleled influence in the Kyoto art world. Eitoku advanced the innovative “grand painting style” (大画様式, dynamic compositions with luxurious gold-leaf sliding screens), which he inherited from his grandfather Masanobu and father Motonobu, solidifying the Kano school’s undisputed status as official painters to the elite. Meanwhile, Tōhaku, though highly skilled, remained a virtually unknown provincial artist. To surpass the Kano school, he needed to undertake even more significant commissions.
Continuously producing new work, Tōhaku’s distinctive talent eventually brought him the honor of painting directly for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Naturally, his rising prominence represented a considerable threat to the Kano school, which viewed this provincial painter as an unwelcome rival. The tension between the two schools resulted in numerous episodes, including a famous confrontation during the renovation of the Sentō Imperial Palace in 1590. Maeda Gen’i, who oversaw the renovation, initially planned to commission Tōhaku for the palace’s sliding door paintings. However, Kano Eitoku vehemently opposed this decision and, together with his son Mitsunobu, directly petitioned the imperial court to revoke the commission from Tōhaku.
In fact, Tōhaku’s reputation had significantly risen the previous year after he was selected by tea master Sen no Rikyū as the artist for the murals of the grand gate at Daitoku-ji Temple, a temple closely associated with the Kano school. This prestigious commission caused Eitoku to become furious at Tōhaku’s intrusion, prompting him to block Tōhaku’s progress by every means possible. These conflicts clearly demonstrated the lack of cordial relations between the two schools. Yet, amidst fierce competition, Kano Eitoku unexpectedly died in 1591 at age 48, opening the way for Tōhaku and his followers to assert themselves in the new political landscape shaped by the Toyotomi regime.
One significant reason for Tōhaku’s rise in Kyoto was his extraordinary ability to “express everything by himself,” in sharp contrast to the Kano school’s established method of specialized group collaboration. Unlike many contemporary painters bound by the styles of their respective schools, Tōhaku relentlessly pursued originality beyond established traditions and styles. As a result, he excelled not only in the popular gold-leaf sliding screen paintings (金碧障壁画) but also mastered techniques in traditional Japanese painting (大和絵, Yamato-e) and ink painting (水墨画, Suiboku-ga), leaving a wide variety of works ranging from Buddhist art and portraits to bird-and-flower and landscape paintings.
Having attained a reputation that surpassed both the Kano and Tosa schools through his own abilities, Tōhaku produced his greatest masterpiece later in life, the National Treasure “Shōrin-zu byōbu” (松林図屏風). This six-fold ink-painted screen depicts pine trees enveloped in misty silence, masterfully utilizing the concept of yohaku (余白, expressive empty spaces). This work is deeply connected to the untimely death of his beloved eldest son and heir, Kyūzō, who passed away at the young age of 26. Kyūzō’s artistic skills were widely recognized as surpassing even those of his father, and his sudden death, whose cause remains uncertain, led to speculation that members of the Kano school had him assassinated to halt the rise of the Hasegawa school.
The profound sense of loss Tōhaku experienced from this tragedy is believed to have directly inspired the creation of the ““Shōrin-zu byōbu.” Unlike the commissioned paintings produced for powerful patrons, this screen had no specific client, possibly having originally been intended as preparatory sketches for wall paintings before being adapted into an independent screen format. By deliberately interrupting continuity in the composition and leaving unfinished spaces on the left and right sides, Tōhaku created a seemingly endless landscape of pine groves. This depiction vividly reflects Tōhaku’s internal emotional landscape shaped by immense grief. The imposing presence of pine trees wrapped in mist strongly evokes memories of the coastal pine forests of his hometown, Noto.
Tōhaku single-handedly established the Hasegawa school in Kyoto, but due to Kyūzō’s untimely death, the school’s prosperity did not endure. Nonetheless, Tōhaku’s courageous confrontation with the dominant Kano school, combined with the hardships and personal losses he endured, transformed his art into a timeless expression of beauty. His paintings deeply integrate his life’s experiences, continuing to profoundly move viewers even today.
Currently, due to earthquake damage, the Ishikawa Nanao Art Museum (石川県七尾美術館) remains closed, but recent announcements suggest it will reopen this autumn with a special exhibition featuring Hasegawa Tōhaku’s masterpiece, the ““Shōrin-zu byōbu.” If readers happen to be visiting Japan around that time, experiencing Tōhaku’s captivating work firsthand will surely be unforgettable.