This form of distemper painting the Japanese had borrowed from the fine-brushwork, colorful paintings of Tang-dynasty China. The methods and style belonged to the northern school. Although quite different from the southern school, which made rather restrained use of color, the northern school was nonetheless part of the heritage of Chinese painting.
「東洋畫」是日本學自中國唐代的「青綠金碧山水」等工筆重彩畫，畫法和風格屬於「北宗」畫派，雖然和用色淡雅的「南宗」水墨畫大不相同，但兩者都屬於中國畫。