Exploring the Literary Practices of an Early Modern Japanese Painter— The Second Seminar Held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems
On June 5, 2026, the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems held its second research seminar for FY2026. Prof. MATSUSHIMA Jin of the Mt. Fuji World Heritage Centre, Shizuoka, was invited to serve as commentator, and Ms. ONO Mayumi, Head of the Japanese and East Asian Art History Section, gave a presentation entitled “Kanō Tsunenobu as a Waka Poet: Waka Practice, Connoisseurship, and Painting.”
Kanō Tsunenobu (1636–1713), best known as an official painter to the Tokugawa shogunate, has been regarded primarily as a leading master of the Kanō school. This presentation reconsidered his artistic career from a different perspective by focusing on his activities as a waka poet and on his intellectual exchanges with court nobles and Confucian scholars.
Based on historical sources, including records of waka gatherings and the Kokushikan Nichiroku (國史館日録), the presentation demonstrated that Tsunenobu actively participated in literary and intellectual circles from an early age. Through interactions with court nobles, scholars, and daimyō, he acquired broad knowledge of waka poetry, classical literature, and painting. The study further argued that this literary and classical learning formed an essential foundation for his activities as both a painter and a connoisseur of Chinese and Japanese paintings, enabling him to interpret painting subjects, inscriptions, and historical contexts with remarkable sophistication.
The presentation also suggested that the success of the Kobikichō Kanō lineage was not achieved solely through institutional advancement within the shogunate but was supported by the intellectual networks and cultural practices cultivated by Tsunenobu himself. By reexamining him not merely as a painter but also as a cultural figure whose expertise encompassed waka, classical learning, and connoisseurship, the study offered a new perspective on cultural production in the Edo period.
The seminar concluded with an active discussion, during which participants posed thought-provoking questions and offered valuable comments. Their insights provided important directions for future research, and the Japanese and East Asian Art History Section will continue to investigate the Kanō school and the broader cultural networks of early modern Japan.