( fl 1565–76). Professional painter of the late Muromachi (1333–1568) and early Momoyama (1568–1600) periods. Edo-period (1600–1868) biographies and art histories contradict each other about his identity. Most texts identify him as the grandson of (2) Kano Motonobu, but the Honcho gashi (‘History of Japanese painting’; 1693) by Kano Eino (1631–97) and the Koga biko (‘Handbook of classical painting’; Edo (now Tokyo), c. 1845–53) claim that he was Motonobu’s son. Modern scholars differ on the same point; Hiroshi Matsuki argued that Hideyori was Motonobu’s second son, Joshin. Hideyori is most famous for the six-panel folding screen painting Maple Viewing at Takao (Takao Kunpu-zu; Tokyo, N. Mus.). Its focus on human figures of various classes enjoying themselves makes it one of the earliest examples of Japanese fuzokuga (genre painting; see JAPAN, §VI, 4(iv)(a) and fig. 94). The depiction of famous places and seasonal motifs also reflects the origins of fuzokuga: the traditional modes of meishoe (paintings of famous places) and shikie (paintings of four seasons). To these traditional themes, Hideyori added a new emphasis on scenes of contemporary society, creating a work that anticipates early modern Japanese painting. Dated paintings bear the Hideyori seal, providing a fuller picture of the artist and a chronology of his activities. Inscriptions on the hanging scroll Tenjin Crossing the Sea (Toto Tenjin zu; 1564–7; Yabumoto Sogoro priv. col.) mark Hideyori’s earliest date of activity. This painting, as well as Three Laughers of Tiger Valley (Kokei sanshozu; untraced) and Drunken Li Bai (Sui Rihaku zu; Klaus Naumann priv. col.), were inscribed by Zen monks associated with the temple Myoshinji, Kyoto, and the priest Sakugen Shuryo (1500–78), and suggest Hideyori’s connection with this religious and cultural circle. The variety of works he produced—fan paintings of birds and flowers, hanging scrolls of ink landscapes, figures, paintings of oxherding scenes and votive plaques—indicate that Hideyori was a professional painter.

Part of the Kano family

• Kano Hideyori
  • Kano
  • groups and movements
    • Kano school, §1: Introduction
  • works
    • Japan, §VI, 4(iv)(a): Late genre painting: Fuzokuga