Sumiyoshi Gukei

(b 1631; d 1705). Painter. He was the eldest son of (1) Sumiyoshi Jokei. In 1674 he became a monk at Myohoin on Mount Hiei (Kyoto Prefect.) and was granted the name Gukei. In 1675 he produced paintings for the Tofukumonin Palace in Kyoto. In 1684 he moved from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo), and the following year he was appointed official painter (goyo eshi) to the shogunate, superseding the Kanga (Chinese-style) painters of the Kano school who had previously held the office. This change can be seen as a conscious decision to appoint a representative of a native painting school of the Yamatoe tradition. This followed the earlier appointment of the former head of the Sumiyoshi school, Jokei, and of Tosa Mitsuoki (see TOSA, (3)) to the Edokoro (Office of Painting) of the court (1654). These honours confirmed the leading position of the Sumiyoshi and Tosa schools within the painting establishment of the day (see JAPAN,

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