Kano Tanyu

• Born: 1602
• Died: 1674
• Japanese: 狩野探幽 (Kanou Tan'yuu)

Kanô Tan'yû was among the most prominent painters of the early Edo period.

After his great-uncle Kanô Naganobu relocated to Edo and was named official court painter to the Tokugawa shogunate in 1615, Tan'yû was named to the same position in 1617, and established himself in Edo beginning in 1621. He was provided samurai status by the shogunate, and a mansion at Kajibashi, where he made his atelier.

He is known for a great many notable works, including fusuma paintings created as part of renovations of Nijô castle in 1623-1626, restoration work at the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 1642, decorations for a Kishû Tokugawa clan summer home in 1649, a series of wall paintings for the honmaru palace of Edo castle, completed in 1659, and paintings on the interior of the gateways to Nikkô Tôshôgû. Fusuma paintings at Daitoku-ji by Tan'yû and his forebearer Kanô Eitoku have been designated National Treasures.

His first son, Kanô Tanshin, was born in 1653. One of Tan'yû's daughters married Kanô Masunobu.

Following his death in 1674, Kanô Tan'yû was buried at Ikegami Honmonji in Edo.

References

• Timon Screech, Obtaining Images, University of Hawaii Press (2012), 138.