備中（今の岡山県）に生まれ、京都の相国寺で禅の修行をしながら絵を学びました。40代で中国（明）に渡り、本場の自然と絵を見て帰国します。山口などを拠点に各地を旅し、力強い線の水墨画を描きました。《秋冬山水図》《天橋立図》など、国宝に指定された作品が6件もあり、日本の画家の中でいちばん多いのです。
Sesshū was born in Bitchū, now Okayama, and trained as a Zen monk at Shōkoku-ji temple in Kyoto, where he also studied painting. In his forties, he traveled to Ming China and saw its landscapes and paintings. Back in Japan, he lived mainly in Yamaguchi and traveled widely, painting ink pictures with powerful lines. Six of his works are National Treasures, more than any other Japanese painter.
