Kano School

Refers to the work of a school of painters patronized from the late Muromachi period (1333-1568) through the Edo period (1600-1868) by successive military governments. Founded by Kano Masanobu (1434-1530) in the mid-15th century, the school emphasized the conservative Chinese Southern Song and Yuan academic styles, and grew into a large network of artists who held control over public and private commissions from the shogunate, monasteries and merchant classes for over 200 years. Kano artists produced a wide variety of works from fans to screen painting to hanging scrolls and votive plates. The Kano school was also well known for its bold style of ink painting.