machigano 町狩野

A general term for the Kano school *Kano-ha 狩野派, or for Kano-trained artists who carried out painting commissions for private (non-official) patrons during the Edo period. At that time, the Kano painters who worked officially for the shogunate *goyō-eshi 御用絵師 had fixed, hereditary stipends and ranks. As a result, many of the disciples of the school who were without rank or stipend had to earn their livings by painting for private patrons. Some of these artists were authorized to use the Kano name, while others used their own surnames.