 thumb|trees on sliding doors   was a japanese painter who lived during the azuchiâmomoyama period of japanese history and one of the most prominent patriarchs of the kanÅ school of japanese painting. ==life and works== born in kyoto, eitoku was the grandson of kanÅ motonobu (1476â1559), an official painter for the ashikaga shogunate. he was recognized for his artistic talent at a very young age. under motonobu's guidance, he developed his grandfather's style, which had influence from chinese painting. collaborating with his father shÅei (1519â92), eitoku painted the wall panels of the abbot's quarters in jukÅin, a subtemple of the daitoku-ji zen monastic complex in kyoto. during his lifetime, eitoku's patrons included oda nobunaga and toyotomi hideyoshi. his standing screen, sliding door, wall, and ceiling paintings decorated nobunaga's azuchi castle and hideyoshi's residence in kyoto and osaka castle. contemporary accounts indicate that eitoku was one of the most highly sought-after artists of his time, and received many wealthy and powerful patrons. maintaining the preeminence of the kanÅ school was not merely an artistic feat, but an organizational and political one also. eitoku was able to secure a steady stream of commissions and an efficient workshop of students and assistants, and at one point successfully intercepted a warlord's commission of the rival hasegawa studio. his signal contribution to the kanÅ repertoire was the so-called "monumental style" (taiga), characterized by bold, rapid brushwork, an emphasis on foreground, and motifs that are large relative to the pictorial space. the traditional account for this style, codified by eitoku's great-grandson kanÅ einÅ (1631â97) in his history of japanese painting (honcho gashi), is that it resulted partly from the exigencies of eitoku's busy schedule, and that it embodied the martial and political bravura of the warlords, nobunaga and hideyoshi. unfortunately, most of his works were destroyed in the turmoil of the sengoku period. however, those that do still exist provide testimony to his talent, to the power and wealth of his patrons nobunaga and hideyoshi, and to the magnificence of azuchi-momoyama culture. thumb|760px|center == external links ==  * national archives of japan: ryukyu chuzano ryoshisha tojogyoretsu, scroll illustrating procession of ryukyu emissary to edo, 1710 (hÅei 7). *[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobj
1543_births 1590_deaths Japanese_painters KanA_school People_from_Kyoto