National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This set of paintings depicts men enjoying a wintry landscape. The painting on the right features a lone fisherman fishing in the cold, while the one on the left depicts a man of virtue, likely a hermit, walking in the snow in search of plum blossoms. These themes draw from Chinese literature; the figures of virtuous men who have left behind worldly attachments and retreated into seclusion can be seen to embody Muromachi-period Japanese admiration for Chinese culture.

The seal imprinted on both works tells us that they were created by Kanō Masanobu (1436–90), the painter who established the foundations for the Kanō school that later dominated the painting world during the Edo period (17th–19th century). Although he was Buddhist and part of the Nichiren sect, Masanobu did not only paint Buddhist works, but also landscapes and portraits. In fact, the bulk of his works were created for the Muromachi shogunate, after he succeeded Oguri Sōtan (1413–81) as its official painter, serving the eighth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436–90).

The style of this work follows that of Southern Song Chinese court painter Ma Yuan, whom the Muromachi-period Japanese people held in high regard. Ma Yuan’s works were among some of the most highly valued, even among the Ashikaga shogunal family’s collection of Chinese paintings, and served as the model for many ink paintings in the Muromachi period. It is thus likely that many elements of this work, including its motifs and composition, were inspired by Ma Yuan’s works in the Higashiyama Treasures, the Ashikaga shogunal family’s collection of Chinese arts and crafts.