Landscapes by Li Tang (Ink on Silk)

Southern Song Landscapes of Kotoin

The Landscapes by Li Tang (Ink on Silk) (絹本墨画山水図) is two Southern Song ink landscape paintings owned by Kotoin, a sub-temple of Daitokuji in Murasakino Daitokuji-cho, Kita Ward, Kyoto City, which in 1952 were designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records two hanging scrolls in ink on silk, owned by Kotoin.

The Kyoto City Tourism Association attributes them to Li Tang and calls them masterpieces of early Southern Song landscape painting.

The Painter

The Agency records them as Southern Song works in ink on silk.

The tourism association notes that Kotoin, which holds them, is a sub-temple of Daitokuji founded in 1601 by Hosokawa Tadaoki (Sansai), one of Rikyu's seven leading disciples.

What to Look For

The tourism association describes Kotoin's two landscapes by Li Tang as masterpieces of early Southern Song landscape painting.

Painted in Southern Song China, they have been kept at a Daitokuji sub-temple associated with the Hosokawa family.

Visiting the Landscapes by Li Tang (Ink on Silk)

The tourism association notes that the temple treasures used to be shown for one day on the second Sunday of October, but Kotoin is closed to visitors in 2026 with no date set for reopening.