Sesshū

Sesshū, original surname Oda, also called Tōyō, Unkoku, or Bikeisai, (born 1420, Akahama, Bitchū province, Japan—died August 26, 1506, near Masuda, Iwami province), artist of the Muromachi period, one of the greatest masters of the Japanese art of sumi-e, or monochrome ink painting. Sesshū adapted Chinese models to Japanese artistic ideals and aesthetic sensibilities. He painted landscapes, Zen Buddhist pictures, and screens decorated with flowers and birds and other animals. His style is distinguished for its force and vehemence of brush stroke as well as by its intensity of conception.