A lively tradition of realistic portraiture has emerged in painting during Japan’s Kamakura period, paralleling the trend toward greater realism and humanism in sculpture.

The biographies of famous evangelist priests become a popular subject of scroll painting, as seen in En'i’s Song Chinese-influenced Biography of Ippen Shonin, executed in 1299.

New developments in narrative hand scrolls include a focus on the vigorous depiction of military history and on the vivid and occasionally bizarre portrayal of Buddhist hell scenes.

The new form of painting called “nise-e” ("likeness paintings") that emerges during the Kamakura period fully expresses the personalities of great generals such as Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), members of the aristocracy, and even the emperor.