Sōami (1525): Bridging East and West in Japanese Landscape Painting The world of 16th-century Japan was undergoing a profound transformation, marked by the waning influence of the Kamakura shogunate and the rise of the Ashikaga. Amidst this shifting landscape emerged Sōami (相阿弥), a painter whose work stands as a pivotal bridge between traditional Japanese aesthetics and the burgeoning artistic currents flowing from China. Born in Tokyo around 1525, Sōami’s life was inextricably linked to the world of art and patronage, inheriting a legacy of connoisseurship and ultimately forging his own dis…