長谷川等伯 能登から京都へTohaku Hasegawa - Japan's Legendary Painter from Earthquake-Stricken Noto
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: Tohaku Hasegawa (長谷川等伯, 1539–1610). Born in Nanao, Noto Province (present-day Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture), Tohaku 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, Tohaku 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 Tohaku among these established elites. Nevertheless, at the age of 33, Tohaku bravely journeyed to Kyoto alone, quietly establishing himself as a painter based at Honpo-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 Rikyu and Tsuda Sogyu began praising and supporting his talents through the mediation of Nittsu Shonin, the head priest of Honpo-ji. Thanks to their support, Tohaku was able to steadily gain new opportunities despite intense pressure from the Kano and Tosa schools.
However, Tohaku 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, Tohaku gradually began to stand out in Kyoto.
Yet, Kyoto at that time was dominated by Eitoku Kano (狩野永徳, 1543–1590), a prodigious painter who represented the pinnacle of the Kano lineage. Supported by powerful warlords 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, Tohaku, 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, Tohaku’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 Sento Imperial Palace in 1590. Gen’i Maeda, who oversaw the renovation, initially planned to commission Tohaku for the palace’s sliding door paintings. However, Eitoku Kano vehemently opposed this decision and, together with his son Mitsunobu, directly petitioned the imperial court to revoke the commission from Tohaku.
In fact, Tohaku’s reputation had significantly risen the previous year after he was selected by tea master Sen no Rikyu 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 Tohaku’s intrusion, prompting him to block Tohaku’s progress by every means possible. These conflicts clearly demonstrated the lack of cordial relations between the two schools. Yet, amidst fierce competition, Eitoku Kano unexpectedly died in 1591 at age 48, opening the way for Tohaku and his followers to assert themselves in the new political landscape shaped by the Toyotomi regime.
One significant reason for Tohaku’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, Tohaku 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, Tohaku produced his greatest masterpiece later in life, the National Treasure Shorin-zu byobu (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, Kyuzo, who passed away at the young age of 26. Kyuzo’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 Tohaku experienced from this tragedy is believed to have directly inspired the creation of Shorin-zu byobu. 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, Tohaku created a seemingly endless landscape of pine groves. This depiction vividly reflects Tohaku’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.
Tohaku single-handedly established the Hasegawa school in Kyoto, but due to Kyuzo’s untimely death, the school’s prosperity did not endure. Nonetheless, Tohaku’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 Tohaku Hasegawa’s masterpiece, Shorin-zu byobu. If readers happen to be visiting Japan around that time, experiencing Tohaku’s captivating work firsthand will surely be unforgettable.