Sesson Shūkei was born into the Satake family in Hitachi province (current of Hitachi Ōmiya in Ibaraki prefecture) around the Entoku era (1489–1492) of the Muromachi period. As a young child, he became a Buddhist novice at his ancestral temple Shōjyū-ji, where he encountered many of the temple’s treasured paintings and where he blossomed as a painter. He was active in this area until some time after the prime of his life. Among the works from this period are
Tenjin in Court Attire (no. 2) and a quintessential work Wind and Waves (no. 3).
By his 50s, Sesson had achieved fame as a painter-priest that he taught the warlord Ashina Moriuji lessons on the aesthetics of painting. Thereafter, he traveled to Odawara and Kamakura to study the Chinese paintings amassed by the Hōjō clan and the Chinese Yuan-dynasty and Japanese Kamakura-period masterpieces.
By his 50s, Sesson had achieved fame as a painter-priest that he taught the warlord Ashina Moriuji lessons on the aesthetics of painting. Thereafter, he traveled to Odawara and Kamakura to study the Chinese paintings amassed by the Hōjō clan and the Chinese Yuan-dynasty and Japanese Kamakura-period masterpieces.
