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Tawaraya Sōtasu 俵屋宗達
Tawaraya Sōtatsu (fl. ca. 1600–1643) was in many ways a mystery, and we know little about his life. What is known is that he was the head of a painting shop, eya, in Kyoto in the early seventeenth century. He initially painted primarily for urban commoners and the merchant class. However, his dynamism of composition, his design acumen, and his use of abstract forms and materials was so remarkable that he came to the attention of the imperial court. He became an imperial painter, and by the end of his life he produced some of the most memorable screens that exist from the Edo period.
