Kano

Kano , family or school of Japanese painters. Kano Masanobu, c.1434-c.1530, the forerunner of the school, was attached to the shogun Yoshimasa's court. He painted landscapes, birds, and figure pieces, chiefly in ink with occasional touches of pale tints. His work is Japanese in spirit, reflecting the influence of Chinese art in technique and style. Only a few of his works survive. His son, Kano Motonobu, c.1476-1559, was the actual founder of the school and one of the foremost artists of Japan. Into Chinese-style ink painting he introduced heavily stressed outlines and bold decorative patterns. His screen paintings served well as architectural decorations and appealed to the tastes of the warrior class. Many of his screen paintings are still preserved in temples of Kyoto. Kano Eitoku, 1543-90, grandson of Motonobu, painted screens with landscapes and figures and decorated the interiors of the royal palaces. His art differs from that of the earlier Kano painters; it is less precise and is characterized by energy, ease, and inventiveness. His screen paintings were done in brilliant colors against a ground of gold leaf. He had many pupils and imitators, but most of his own work has perished. Kano Tanyu, 1602-74, first known as Morinobu, was the grandson of Eitoku and was called the reviver of the Kano school. He was appointed official painter of the Tokugawa government (1621) and established a school of his own. He became one of the most vigorous and versatile of Japanese painters. He worked in both Edo and Kyoto, decorating castles and royal palaces. Although much of his work has since disappeared, some screen paintings are still preserved at Nijo Castle in Kyoto and at Nagoya Castle. His Confucius and Disciples is at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Kano City in n central Nigeria; capital of Kano state. The city dates from before the 12th century and became a Muslim possession in the 16th century. It was conquered by the Fulani in the early 19th century. Today Kano is a trading centre for a region producing cotton and nuts. Industries: textiles, leather goods, brewing, chemicals. Pop. (1996 est.) 674,000.

Kano , city (1991 est. pop. 595,000), N Nigeria. It is the trade and shipping center for an agricultural region where cotton, cattle, and about half of Nigeria's peanuts are raised. Kano is the major industrial center of N Nigeria; peanut flour and oil, cotton textiles, steel furniture, processed meat, concrete blocks, shoes, and soap are the chief manufactures. The city has long been known for its leatherwork; its tanned goatskins were sent (from about 15th cent.) to N Africa and were known in Europe as Morocco leather. One of the seven Hausa city-states, Kano's written history dates back to AD 999, when the city was already several hundred years old. It was a cultural, handicraft, and commercial center, with wide trade contacts in W and N Africa. In the early 16th cent. Kano accepted Islam. Kano reached the height of its power in the 17th and 18th cent. In 1809 it was conquered by the Fulani , but it soon regained its leading commercial position. In 1903 a British force captured the city. In Kano are Abdullahi Bayero College (1960; part of Ahmadu Bello Univ., Zaria); Gidan Makama Museum, with examples of local art; and the palace of the emir, the former ruler of the Kano city-state.