Tawaraya Sōtatsu
Japanese painter and co-founder of the Rinpa school.
Tawaraya Sōtatsu (c. He is best known for his decorations of calligraphic works by Hon'ami Kōetsu and for his byōbu folding screens, including the National Treasures Wind God and Thunder God. He also popularized the tarashikomi wet-on-wet painting technique. His masterwork, Waves at Matsushima (1620s), is highly regarded, and his collaborative handscroll Anthology with Cranes is praised for its cutting-edge originality.
- field
- Furniture designer and painter
- nationality
- Japanese
- known_for
- Decorations of calligraphic works by Hon'ami Kōetsu, byōbu folding screens (Wind
Lore & Background
He married a cousin of Kōetsu and opened a shop in Kyoto named Tawaraya, selling decorated objects such as fans, lantern paper, screens, dolls, and kimono patterns, and taking commissions for interior decoration. His most successful direct students were Tawaraya Sōsetsu and Kitawaga Sōsetsu.
Reader's Guide
Tawaraya Sōtatsu is significant for co-founding the Rinpa school, a group of artists directly influenced by him and Hon'ami Kōetsu, though it was not strictly a school. Sōtatsu's work was not particularly recognized in his lifetime, but he is now the second-most recognized Japanese painter by number of inclusions in the National Treasures of Japan list. His masterwork, Waves at Matsushima (1620s), is highly regarded, and his collaborative handscroll Anthology with Cranes is praised for its cutting-edge originality.
Did You Know?
- He married a cousin of Hon'ami Kōetsu and opened a shop in Kyoto named Tawaraya, selling decorated objects such as fans, lantern paper, screens, dolls, and kimono patterns.
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