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

Sesson is the eldest son of Satake, a military commander in the Hitachiōta area, but he became a Zen monk and painted while traveling in the Kanto and southern Tohoku area, including Aizu, Odawara, Kamakura. He lived in seclusion in Miharu (Fukushima Prefecture) in his later years.
Although the atmosphere of this painting is moderately calm, the palm trees are painted with a speedy touch similar to the style of Mokkei (late 1200s), which is completely different from the touch seen in other colored kayouzu (portraits of a falcon perched on a branch). Falcons used for falconry, along with hunting dogs, were valuable to warriors as a partner for hunting. Hence, the falcon was a popular motif for paintings in the Muromachi period, as many portraits of them were produced. Sometimes warriors themselves painted their own falcons, and the style of this painting is similar to those pieces.