Kyoto, active around 1600 -1640 · Gold, tarashikomi and birth of Rimpa

Leaping gods, deer advancing among calligraphy and scenes from Genji on a gold background: Sôtatsu transforms the decorative surface into a space of movement.

Tawaraya Sôtatsu was active in Kyoto in the early 17th century; his dates of birth and death remain unknown. He probably runs a workshop called Tawaraya, producing decorated papers, fans and paintings for an urban and aristocratic clientele. His collaboration with the calligrapher and creator Hon'ami Kouetsu is foundational: pigments, gold and patterns welcome writing without becoming simple borders. The Deer Roller makes a herd run through Kouetsu's calligraphed poems and the rhythm of the bodies responding to that of the brush. The Deer Roller makes a herd run through Kouetsu's calligraphed poems, the rhythm of the bodies responding to that of the brush. The Deer Roller makes a herd run through the calligraphed poems of Kouetsu, the rhythm of the bodies responding to that of the brush. The Deer Roller makes a herd run through the calligraphed poems of Kouetsu, the rhythm of the bodies responding to that of the brush. The Deer Roller makes a herd run through the calligraphed poems of Kouetsu, the rhythm of the bodies responding to that of the brush. The Deer Roller makes a herd run through the calligraphed poems of Kouetsu, the rhythm of the bodies responding vehicles, characters and poetic signs. God of Wind and God of Thunder, National Treasure, Fujin and Raijin Square at the ends of a vast golden background; the void between them becomes atmospheric tension. Sôtatsu also develops tarashikomi, a deposit of ink or wet color in a still wet layer, which produces moving shapes. The "Tawaraya Sôtatsu" selection notably compares Sekiya and Miotsukushi, scenes from Tale of Genji and Deer Roll. His reading favors the material.

In Sotatsu, gold is never still: it becomes sky between two gods, silence between two verses and distance between two scenes of Genji.