View of Amanohashidate

Sesshū painted this tour de force in the last years of his life based on a sketch he made when he visited Tango in northern Kyoto prefecture in 1501 (Bunki 1). Near the center of the work are the white sandbar and pine trees of Amanohashidate (“Bridge to Heaven”) and Chion-ji Temple, which is renowned for its Monju (Skt. Mañjuśrī) cult. Above this is the Sea of Aso, on whose distant shores lie the town of Fuchū with its temples and shrines crowded together. Towering over this expansive scenery is a massive mountain, home to Nariai-ji Temple, which is also a sacred ground for Kannon (Skt. Avalokiteśvara). Below, in the foreground, is the Bay of Miyazu and running along the bottom of the composition is the mountain range of Kunda Peninsula.
While the painting appears to be a realistic rendition of the landscape based on observation, Sesshū experimented with this wide format by depicting the mountain on which Nariaiji is located as a soaring peak and lengthening the townscape below. The high vantage point from which the overall composition appears to have been rendered does not actually exist but rather served as another devise to effectively create a majestic view of Amanohashidate. The brushwork here is extremely rough, making the painting look as if it had been done in a single, rushed sitting. It is this very quality, however, that gives this work its distinctive dynamism and strength.