As the successive shoguns including Yoshimitsu ASHIKAGA (Yoshimasa's grandfather) and Yoshinori ASHIKAGA (Yoshimasa's father) had a strong taste for Karamono (things imported from China), they collected Chinese paintings (Karamono) of Sung (dynasty), Yuan (dynasty), etc., through trade between Japan and the Ming Dynasty, and the paintings were affixed with the seal of Kanzo in (a collector's seal, which was impressed on Sung and Yuan period paintings) such as 'Tenzan' and 'Doyu'
義政の祖父にあたる足利義満や父の足利義教ら歴代将軍は唐物志向が強く、日明貿易により宋(王朝)・元(王朝)などの中国絵画（唐物）を収集し、「天山」「道有」などの鑑蔵院が押された。