Kanō school painting attributed to Kanō Utanosuke Yukinobu 狩 野 雅 楽 之 助 之 信 (act ca 1513-1575) - Scroll, ink on paper, mounting on silk - God of Good Fortune Hotei 布袋 resting on his bag of riches - Japan - 16th century (Muromachi period)

Kanō school painting attributed to Kanō Utanosuke Yukinobu 狩野雅楽之助之信 (act ca 1513-1575) - Scroll, ink on paper, mounting on silk - God of Good Fortune Hotei 布袋 resting on his bag of riches - Japan - 16th century (Muromachi period) Hotei is originally a legendary Buddhist priest of the Tang Dynasty in China, who became in Japan one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. The pattern of Hotei is a favourable pattern of a drawing in Zen painting. The Kanō school is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting which started since 15th century. It was a professional group of painters who worked for the powerful people of the time. Each generation had to practice and protect the hereditary technique. This example reflects a popular characterisation of Hotei that became widespread among early members of the Kanō school of painting in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Kanō Utanosuke Yukinobu 狩野雅楽之助之信 (act ca 1513-1575) was the younger brother of Motonobu (ca 1476-1559) , the official painter to the reigning shogunate, and developed a style that became pivotal in shaping the sophisticated taste of secular and religious patrons alike. His brushwork is subtle and refined. For another painting by Yukinobu and his biography see Metropolitan Museum of Art: https: //www. metmuseum. org/art/collection/search/816195 The tomobako bears the inscription: 'Kakemono Hotei Utanosuke' 掛物 布袋 雅楽助