(b Nanao, Noto Prov. [now Ishikawa Prefect.], 1539; d Edo [now Tokyo], 1610). Japanese painter and founder of the Hasegawa school of painters.

He was one of the most important painters of the Momoyama period (1568–1600). Born into the Okumura family, retainers to the Hatakeyama clan who were overlords of the castle in Nanao, he was later adopted into the Hasegawa family, which ran a dyeing business. Tohaku’s early work was done under the name of Nobuharu (which can also be read Shinshun), and consisted primarily of ink paintings depicting Buddhist subjects. Several extant examples may be seen at Shogakuin and Reisenji, temples in the area where he grew up, and at Daihoji, a temple in Takaoka in nearby Toyama Prefecture. One pair of byobu (folding screens), Rounding up Horses (c. 1570; ink and colour on paper; Tokyo, N. Mus.), also demonstrates Tohaku’s early abilities within the Yamatoe tradition of painting subjects associated with the Japanese (see JAPAN, §VI, 3(iii) and 4(ii)).

• Hasegawa Tohaku
  • Japan, §VI, 4(i)(b): Late painting: Momoyama period
  • Japan, §XVIII, 2: Art training and education, before 1868
  • Kano: (5) Kano Eitoku, §3: After 1582
  • Toyo Sesshu, §2: Context and influence
  • attributions
    • Kyoto, §IV, 4(ii): Nanzenji: Subtemples
  • patrons and collectors
    • Toyotomi Hideyoshi
  • works
    • Japan, §XIV, 1(i): Tea ceremony: History
    • Kyoto, §IV, 5(i): Daitokuji: Layout
    • Kyoto, §IV, 5(ii): Daitokuji: Architecture and art works