Amanohashidate-zu by Sessbu, contained in Kyoto National Museum, has become known as a masterpiece of his very last year by means of the letters of the place name on the picture. In this essay, I shall examine one point about this picture, that is, the question whether this picture was sketched realistically on location or simply drawn as a stylistic scenic beauty picture. It is in the Fujiwara Period that pictures with this particular theme, i. e., Amanohashidate-zu, appeared in the history of Japanese paintingsComparing the Sesshu-bon with some of those works, we can see that the former does not belong to the genre of stylistic scenic beauty picture, judging from the fact of such exactness in describing the view. To pursue this question further, one would need to inquire into his purpose in drawing this picture.
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