History of Hyoso

Formation of three categories of mounting

The most significant change in the Japanese history of mounting was brought about by the tea ceremony.
During the Muromachi period when Ashikaga Yoshimasa reigned the country, Japan saw the growth of the
Higashiyama Culture, famous for the Japanese tea ceremony, Japanese flower arrangement
and the performance of Noh. During this time the Noh’ami and So’ami, who were retained by the shogun, were put
in charge of organising tea ceremonies and general affairs for him. The Noh’ami prepared a catalogue called kundai
kanso choki, where paintings and calligraphic works collected by shoguns were listed. In this catalog, the paintings
were classified by the degree of formality. This fell into two of the three broad categories of Shin, Gyo, So
(formal semi-formal, informal) that are used to express Japanese art and culture such as the tea ceremony and
calligraphy. So’ami, on the other hand, wrote a book called okazariki, which recorded appropriate manners and
instructions for the use of these artworks. Later, So’ami adapted the classification of artworks and based on that,
he established the Japanese mounting style.