Sotatsu Tawaraya

Sotatsu Tawaraya, fl. early 1600s, Japanese artist. With Koetsu he is credited with founding the decorative Rimpa school of Japanese painting. A painter who revived yamato-e style by augmenting its lyric quality with brilliant colors and a bold graphic sense, in 1630 Sotatsu was commissioned to illustrate the Saigyo Monogatari Emaki [Biography of the monk Saigyo] as well as to create a set of screens for the emperor. Among his most important works are the illustrated covers he painted for the Lotus Sutra which was given to the Itsukushima Shrine by the Heike family in the 12th cent. He painted subjects from Japanese and Chinese classical literature as well as landscapes. The most creative master of the decorative school, his work greatly influenced such painters as Ogata Korin.