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*''Japanese/Okinawan'': 城間 清豊 ''(Gusukuma Seihou)''
*''Japanese/Okinawan'': 城間 清豊 ''(Gusukuma Seihou)''
Gusukuma Seihô was an official court painter at the royal court of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]].
Gusukuma Seihô was an official court painter at the royal court of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], and is one of the most celebrated painters in Ryukyuan history. He is perhaps the earliest Ryukyuan painter who is both known by name, and by surviving artwork.<ref>Satoshi Tsuhako, "Arts and Crafts of Okinawa," ''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', Okinawa Prefectural Government (2016), 24.</ref>
Gusukuma was born to an aristocratic family in [[Shuri]]. His father was a musician, but Gusukuma was a deaf mute<ref name=arts>"[http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/013/E/art/dynasty/art10.html Hakutaku no zu]." Arts of Okinawa. Okinawa Prefectural Government. 2003. Accessed 6 October 2009.</ref> and he focused his energies in a different direction, teaching himself to paint<ref name=jinmei>"Ji Ryô." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p 44.</ref>. He sought out Chinese paintings, and was heavily influenced by them<ref name=kotobank/>.
Gusukuma was born to an aristocratic family in [[Shuri]]. His father Gusukuma Seishin<!--城間清信--> was a musician, who had led the musical performers on the [[1627]] [[Ryukyuan embassy to Edo]]<ref name=higa>Higa Chôken 比嘉朝健。”Kanô Yasunobu to Ryûkyû no gajin Jiryô" 狩野安信と琉球の画人自了。 ''Tôei (Jun-Nihonga Zasshi)'' 搭影(純日本画雑誌)、 Vol. 9-8 (Oct 1933). pp41-45.</ref>; but Seihô was a deaf mute<ref name=arts>"[http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/013/E/art/dynasty/art10.html Hakutaku no zu]." Arts of Okinawa. Okinawa Prefectural Government. 2003. Accessed 6 October 2009.</ref> and he focused his energies in a different direction, teaching himself to paint<ref name=jinmei>"Ji Ryô." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p 44.</ref>. He sought out Chinese paintings, and was heavily influenced by them<ref name=kotobank/>.
Hearing of the young painter, King [[Sho Ho|Shô Hô]] called him to his court, and bestowed upon him the name Ji Ryô. It is said that the [[Chinese investiture envoys]] who witnessed his painting compared him to some of the top painters in China, and that [[Kano Yasunobu|Kanô Yasunobu]], court painter for the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], similarly praised the artist when one of Gusukuma's works was brought to [[Edo]] by the [[1634]] [[Ryukyuan embassy]]<ref name=jinmei/><ref name=arts/>.
Hearing of the young painter, King [[Sho Ho|Shô Hô]] called him to his court, and bestowed upon him the name Ji Ryô. It is said that the [[Chinese investiture envoys]], including [[Du Sance]], who witnessed his painting compared him to some of the top painters in China, and that [[Kano Yasunobu|Kanô Yasunobu]], court painter for the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], similarly praised the artist when one of Gusukuma's works was brought to [[Edo]] by the [[1634]] Ryukyuan embassy<ref name=jinmei/><ref name=arts/>.
Most of Gusukuma's works were destroyed in the 1945 battle of Okinawa. There is only one extant work which bears a seal (''rakan'') confirming it to have been painted by Gusukuma<ref name=jinmei/><ref name=arts/>. It is held by the Okinawa Prefectural Museum, has been designated an Okinawa Prefectural Important Cultural Property, and depicts a fantastic creature known as ''bai ze'' in Chinese and ''hakutaku'' in Japanese<ref name=arts/>.
He was raised and educated at court, though it is unknown under whom he studied painting. He may have learned from a Chinese painter in service to the court, and likely studied painting manuals and the like. Though known chiefly for his paintings, he produced calligraphy and sculpture as well.<ref name=higa/>
Though the ''[[kafu]]'' system of records of aristocratic lineages was not fully established and standardized until [[1689]], roughly 45 years after Seihô's death, he appears in such records under the name Qin. The ''[[Kyuyo|Kyûyô]]'' also refers to him, describing how he was given the name Jiryô by the king, granted a position at court, and raised/educated there, on account of his excellent skill at painting.<ref name=higa/>
Most of Gusukuma's works were destroyed in the 1945 battle of Okinawa. There is only one extant work which bears a seal (''rakan'') confirming it to have been painted by Gusukuma<ref name=jinmei/><ref name=arts/>. It is held by the Okinawa Prefectural Museum, has been designated an Okinawa Prefectural Important Cultural Property, and depicts a fantastic creature known as ''bai ze'' in Chinese (J: ''hakutaku'')<ref name=arts/>.
However, pre-war scholarship indicates that of the extant works in 1933, some reflected study of early [[Kano school|Kanô school]] painting styles, some aimed for the style of [[Kaiho Yusho|Kaihô Yûshô]], and some matched styles of Chinese paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties, including the minimalist method of [[Liang Kai]].<ref name=higa/>
Seihô died an early death, at age 31.
==References==
==References==
