Landscape of the Four Seasons

• Attributed to Sesshū
• Handscroll, ink and light color on paper
• Proportions: 21.5 x 1151.5 cm
• Muromachi Period (second half of the 15th Century)
• Kyoto National Museum
• AK 358
• Important Cultural Property

This long scroll (over 10 meters in length) depicts landscapes in the four seasons. It is often called the "Short Scroll of Landscapes" in contrast with the so-called "Long Scroll of Landscapes," also by Sesshu, kept in the Mori Hoko-kai.

The careful brush strokes and the strict composition reflect the influence of Xia Gui from the China's Southern Song Dynasty. As the brush strokes are milder than those in the Mori-family scroll, some art-historians think that this work was painted not long before Sesshu's death.