The dates of Sesson's birth and death are not known with certainty, but one theory holds that he was born in 1504, and one of his works bears a notation certifying that Sesson painted it when he was 86 years old. He was born in the town of Ota, in Hitachi Province (present-day Fukushima Prefecture in northern Japan). He greatly respected the work of Sesshu and learned by himself the art of painting. Though he was a Zen monk, he shared the tastes of the intellectuals (bunjin) of the time who did not belong to temple organizations. In his later years he lived in retirement in Miharu (present-day Fukushima Prefecture). He was especially adept at paintings of landscapes, birds, flowers, and sages (shinsen) of unusual spiritual attainments living in isolated natural surroundings. Although some of his works are adorned with color, his principal genre was monochrome ink painting. Many of his works are true masterpieces drawn with dynamic brushstrokes and poignant with feeling. He was Japan's best and foremost "regional" painter during the Azuchi-Momoyama period of feudal warfare.

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• Scroll Painting(Emaki)
• Screen and Partition Painting(Shoheiga)
• Buddhist Painting(Butsuga)
• Ink Painting(Suibokuga)
• Litearati Painting(Bunjiga)
• History of Painting