It is said that Sesshu was born in 1420 in Soja City in the Bitchu region (modern-day Okayama), which is where Kokubun-ji Temple and the provincial government were situated. As a young boy, Sesshu entered Hofuku-ji Temple where legend has it he “drew a picture of a rat using tears”* that he shed from the disappointment of having to become a Zen priest. After that experience, he traveled to Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto to continue his studies. There, he learned painting from Shubun who was the most reputed suiboku-ga ink painter of the times, and his talents blossomed. Sesshu left behind an innumerable quantity of paintings, but little is known about the artist before he began going by the name “Sesshu” in his mid 40s. He began comparatively late as an artist, but several researchers believe that it was the artist Sesso, who was active in the same period but then vanished, who emerged later as Sesshu. Other than the similarities in composition and human figures, the two are believed to be the same person because both retained a serf from the Suo region (modern-day Yamaguchi Pref.) and both Toyo Sesso and Toyo Sesshu were active during the same period. Toyo Sesshu (1420 to 1502 or 1506) Self-portrait: Reproduction by Tokuriki Zensetsu (1599 to 1680) Sesshu later traveled to Suo and then crossed over into Ming, China. In 1467, just after the Onin Revolt, he traveled to Ningbo on the Japan-Ming Trading Ship, where he stayed just two years studying painting with the imperial artist Li Zai and interacting with various scholars. Without a doubt, this proved to be a major influence on Sesshu. Once back in Japan, he built a retreat in Hakata but eventually returned to Suo in 1479. However, Sesshu continued to roam about creating, without settling down in any one spot. Though the backdrop was a period of war, it is said that Sesshu intensified his spiritual training of Zen in order to express the landscapes he idealized and that, throughout the rest of his life, which he spent in either Iwami district (present Masuda City) or at Chogen-ji Temple in Bitchu, Sesshu never ceased pursuing the possibilities of expression contained within the sumi ink and brush. It is perhaps that austere image as both an artist and Zen priest who continually renewed himself throughout his entire life that sends us today a special message. * Legend has it that Sesshu was tied to a pillar for being mischievous and, with his toes, drew a rat that looked almost real from the tears that had fallen to the floor. Portrait of Masuda Kanetaka" by Sesshu Autumn and Winter Landscapes (Winter)" by Sesshu Autumn and Winter Landscapes (Autumn)" by Sesshu ▲Return to top of page