Kaihō Yūsetsu (1598-1677) was a significant painter of the early Edo period, and a son of the celebrated Momoyama-period painter Kaihō Yūshō. Born in Kyoto, Yūsetsu passed on his father’s artistic thread but had his own increasingly decorative and popular style. He started his own shop after his father’s death, producing ready-made and commissioned painting, which he supported himself by. He was patronized by the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, who changed his career when introduced by Kasuga-no-Tsubone. He produced work in both Yamato-e and genre painting, as well as in ink painting, and served the Kanō school in the painting of large scale interior paintings.
Early Life
Kaihō Yūsetsu was born at Kyoto in 1598 as the eldest son and heir of Kaihō Yūshō, one of the important painters of Momoyama period. Although painting was already a part of his identity as the child of the Kaihō family, Yūsetsu’s career didn’t start off on the easy path of being a son of a known artist. His father died in 1615 when Yūsetsu was just 18, which meant that the Kaihō school did not have the support of an experienced head to make it a stable artistic institution.
Yūsetsu was not an instant success as a court painter; in fact, he experienced several professional and financial setbacks. He soon became a commercial painter, operating an eya (essentially a painting shop, where works of art could be created either as finished products, or to the wishes of individual customers). This aspect of his life is especially fascinating because he found himself on the other side of the coin of court and elite patronage. Meanwhile, it introduced him to a wider array of materials and clientele, which could account for the more general and accessible nature of his later work.
These are the times he had records of his works remaining. In 1628 for instance, the Tennoji Sumiyoshi-zu folding screen was created by Yūsetsu (Eya Chūzaemon as it was then). This shows that his years as a commercial artist were not idle ones, but an important period of his development, and gives us a peek into his activity prior to his major elevation.
It all changed, however, in the Kan’ei era (1624–1644), when Yūsetsu was introduced to the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu by the hand of Kasuga-no-Tsubone. Through her association with Yūsetsu’s father, she was able to gain access to the shogun’s patronage, and ultimately Yūsetsu’s career shifted from trading in paintings to a much higher level of prestige as an artist working for the ruling elite.
Yūsetsu’s childhood, then, is not quite a simple tale of artistic legacy, but one of transformation: from the son of a renowned painter, to a commercial artist struggling to earn a living, to the patronage he would need to bring back the name Kaihō.
Artistic Journey
The artistic path of Kaihō Yūsetsu is a fascinating one in that it was not just the continuation of his father’s artistic line, Kaihō Yūshō. Following Yūshō’s death in 1615, Yūsetsu had to go it alone as a painter. In his youth he did painting commercially as Chūzaemon and also made ready-made paintings, and also commissioned paintings, under the name of Chūzaemon. This experience should have seen him working with a much broader subject matter and audience than the elite patronage accorded to traditional painters. It also became an integral element of his artistic persona later in life.
The most important turning point was in the Kan’ei reign, when Ieyasu’s advisor, Kasuga-no-Tsubone, suggested that the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, should see Yūsetsu. Then, he was hired as a paid painter to work for Iemitsu, which exposed him to a new artistic world. After this, his work acquired art commissions from the elite and the court, and his ties with the Kanō school further opened up his artistic vision.
While his father was firmly in the realm of ink painting in Chinese style, Yūsetsu’s stylistic approach was more decorative and accessible. His expertise was in the classical Japanese painting style, Yamato-e, and genre painting. In his Folding Screen with Design of the Scenes from The Battle of the Genji and Heike Clans, for instance, he was able to provide brilliant colour, gold clouds and careful observation of the figures, with the result that his work rendered the history of these two clans brilliantly colourful and engaging.
As Yūsetsu’s career progressed, he more and more devoted himself to shōhekiga (paintings for architecture), such as those for wall panels and sliding doors. He rendered with the Kanō-school painters in significant interior renderings, such as at the Kyoto Imperial Palace. His signature piece, Dragon and Clouds, was produced for the Kasuga-no-Tsubone temple, Rinshō-in. Yūsetsu’ was able to successfully adapt the artistic tradition of Kaihō to the visual culture of the Edo period in these commissions.
Signature Works
The signature works are significant in understanding how Kaihō was brought to a more decorative Edo period style by Kaihō Yūsetsu. He is best known for his Folding Screen with Design of the Scenes from ‘The Battle of the Genji and Heike Clans’ which is now held in the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. The screens are in colour and on gold-leaf paper and illustrate two scenes from the Genpei War: on the right is the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, and on the left is the Battle of Yashima. While the battles are the same, the presentation of them is done in a very nuanced way, with Yūsetsu breaking them up across the screens, and filling them with warriors and horses and ships and elaborate golden clouds. The soldiers’ faces are rendered in vibrant hues and with exquisite detail, lending a sense of realism to the historical narrative.
The other is a folding screen depicting the Battle of Ichinotani which is now at the Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore. It’s based on the famous story of the Heike Monogatari, which centers on the drama between Kumagai Naozane and Taira no Atsumori. The use of gold leaf, different colors and the significant aspect of the figures brings the scene life and richness.
Yūsetsu was also noted for his painting of Dragon and Clouds (Unryū-zu), which was created at the temple related to Kasuga-no-Tsubone, Rinshō-in. The work is a second strand of his work, moving away from colorful narrative screens to strong shōhekiga (architecture painting). The expression through brushwork was matched by the monumental scale, which was well suited to temples and warrior patronage, and was an ideal medium for Yūsetsu to use.
Collectively, these pieces reveal the special character of Yūsetsu: its historical narratives, decorative lavishness and sense of movement, combined with its elegant details of Yamato-e painting.
Notable Patrons
These connections were the mainstays of Kaihō Yūsetsu’s career, and much of his ascent can be traced back to them. He would be most closely associated with his chief patron, Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604–1651), the third shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. In the Kan’ei period, Yūsetsu was recommended to Iemitsu by Kasuga-no-Tsubone, a man who had served as the shogun’s wet nurse and was of great influence in the Tokugawa household. In her recommendation, Yūsetsu went from commercial painter to salaried artist serving Iemitsu. This was a huge break, and was a significant move for him to get access to these top commissions and a more stable career in his art.
Kasuga-no-Tsubone was also an important figure in Yūsetsu’s artistic career. Her relationship with the Kaihō family dates back to the Kaihō family’s ancestor, Kaihō Yūshō, and she eventually helped to secure the shogunal patronage for him, Yūsetsu. Her relationship with Yūsetsu went on at Rinshō-in, the temple established by Kasuga. Dragon and Clouds is an especially significant painting in their patronage, since it was his renowned work.
Subsequently, there were also opportunities related to imperial and courtly spaces, such as paintings commissioned for buildings like the Kyoto Imperial Palace by the Kanō-school painters. His patrons were not just a single person, as his career slowly branched out into the artistic world of shogunal, temple and court patronage.