Tosa Mitsunobu

JAPAN; Muromachi period

Tosa Mitsunoba was a painter who served as the head of the Imperial Painting Academy in Japan for over half a century. His paintings for officials, Buddhist temples, and Daoist shrines vary from murals and portraits, to scroll and fan paintings.
The technique Tosa employed is simple and succinct, using light and elegant colors. He incorporated the yamato ink method and expanded his themes and style to exhibit his unique approach. He established the Tosa school, and was renowned alongside Tosa Mitsunaga and Tosa Mitsuoki.
Extant paintings by Tosa include the Origin of Kiyomizudera Temple, which is divided into upper, middle, and lower scrolls, enabling the viewer to see the architectural styles and costumes of the pilgrims depicted; similarly separated into upper and lower scrolls is the Origin of Seikoji Temple. Both of these paintings are listed as Important Cultural Properties and are kept at the Tokyo National Museum.
Origin of Ishiyamadera Temple consists of seven scrolls. The first three scrolls were illustrated by Takashina Takakane, and the fourth was added in 1497 by Tosa. These scrolls are kept at Ishiyamadera Temple in Shiga and are listed as Important Cultural Properties. In addition, Origin of Kitano Tenjin is kept at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, while Origin of Tsukiminedera Temple is at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., USA.