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| Shoen Uemura was born in Kyoto on April 23, 1875. Her real name was Tsune Uemura. She had a strong interest in "Bijinga" drawings (images portraying the beauty of women) over her entire lifetime, which spanned the Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras. Her style involved sharpening the sense of color of "Bijinga" paintings and developing them into works of art rather than sketches. Her work has no equal in this class of paintings. She entered Kyoto Prefectural Art School in 1874 and studied under several traditional Japanese painters, including Shounen Suzuki, Bairei Kono and Seiho Takeuchi. Her genius blossomed from early on, at which point her style was already firmly established: it became known later as "Shoen-style Bijinga". At the age of 15, she entered "Shiki Bijinga " in Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai (Domestic Industrial Exposition) and won a prize. With this as a start, she successively exhibited works in various expositions, such as the Nihon Bijutsu kyokai (Japanese Art Association) and the Japan Youth Painting Fair, succeeding in breaking new ground with "Bijinga" paintings. She became a household name when she was granted the third prize for "Nagayo" in the 1st Bunten Exhibition of 1907 and for "Tsukikage " in the 2nd Exhibition the next year. In the 9th Bunten Exhibition of 1915, she also won the second prize for "Hana-gatami", and finally she was recommended as a permanent exhibitor the next year. Subsequently, as a member of the Teiten Exhibition (Japan Imperial Exhibition), an advisor to the Teiten Exhibition and a member of Teikoku Bijutsuin (the Japan Imperial Academy of Art), she made a major contribution to the Modern Painting Academy of Japan. In 1948, she was the first woman to be awarded the Order of Culture. On August 27 of the very next year, she passed away at her mountain cottage in Heijo Village, Nara Prefecture. |
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| Taikan Yokoyama was born in the Mito District in 1868, the eldest son of Sutehiko Sakai, a member of the samurai class of the Mito clan. In 1889, he entered the first graduating class of Tokyo Fine Art School (now the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music). From the very beginning, he showed great artistic potential. In 1898, to create a new movement in Japanese arts, he set up the Nihon Bijutsuin(the Japan Arts Institute) in cooperation with Shunso Hishida, Kanzan Shimomura, and one of his teachers, Tenshin Okakura. The new style introduced novel techniques and methods and gave an innovative impetus to the Japanese art world. Over the Taisho and Showa eras, he pictured a gorgeous and decorative world following the traditional painting methods of the Rin group, but at the same time, he actively attempted a more modern style with clear tones using India ink, and adopted various Western painting methods as a means of developing his technique. In 1937, he became the first winner of the Order of Culture. Following the tradition of Japanese painting, with its sense of color and dynamic composition, but, on the other hand, trying to take a new viewpoint, Taikan's paintings featured a variety of subjects including nature, scenery and portraits, establishing his own painting style and breathing new life into the art world of the Meiji era. Throughout his seventy-year career in painting, Taikan was always ahead of the times, always seeking new styles of paintings he felt to be authentic. He leaves us a series of masterpieces that escape being categorized into 'Japanese' or 'Western' paintings. He passed away at his house in Ueno Ikenohata, Tokyo, on February 26, 1958. It is now open to the public as the Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Hall. |
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| Shiko Munakata was born in Aomori City on September 5, 1903 and formed there a group of Western-style painters together with Uichi Takayama and other would-be painters. In 1924, he left for Tokyo and immediately made a name for himself in the art world. After only four years in Tokyo, his oil painting "Zatsuen" was accepted for Teiten Exhibition (Japan Imperial Exhibition), and he also won a prize in an exhibition held by Nihon Sosaku Hanga Kyokai (Japan Creative Wood Block Print Artists' Association). Although he initially wanted to be an oil painter, his genius was given greater chance to flower after he converted to wood block printing, an art form highly regarded Van Gogh, whom Shiko greatly respected. In 1938, his wood block print scroll entitled "Uto-hanga-kan" won the highest prize in the Japan Imperial Exhibition and his "Shaka-judai-deshi" was awarded the Saburi Prize in 1940. After World War II, he won prizes at several key expositions, including the Mostra Internationale di Biancoe Nero Lugano, Switzerland, and the Biennale Venezia, Italy. Having made his name as a woodblock printer at these international exhibitions, one-man exhibitions of his works were held worldwide. In parallel with wood block print arts, Munakata also devoted himself to hand-painted works (as opposed to printed works) which he named "Yamato-e". He painted Yamato-e pictures of a variety of subjects, including flowers, trees, birds, fish, landscapes, portraits, young women, and the Buddha. His energetic creative power produced "Ringo-hanakazezu", "Enso-barahizu" and other masterworks. He won the Asahi Culture Prize in 1965. In 1969, he sent "Daisekai-no-saku" to the Osaka International Exposition of 1969. In 1970 he was honored with both the Order of Culture and the Mainichi Art Award Cultural Medal. On September 13, 1975, he passed away at his own house in Suginami-ku, Tokyo. The Munakata Shiko Memoriam Museum was opened in his hometown, Aomori City, in November of that year. |
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| Ekaku Hakuin was born in Suruga (now Shizuoka Prefecture). He reconstructed Zen Buddhism in Japan and has been called the greatest priest of Zen Buddhism in the modern history of Japan. By breathing new life into Zen practices which up to then had centered on "Koan" (paradoxical questions for meditation presented to students seeking to learn the secrets of Zen) and educating many Zen monks, he succeeded in reconstructing Zen Buddhism in Japan: it is said that the present Zen form originated from Hakuin. Zen Buddhism at the time was under the strong influence of the Chinese style but Hakuin restructured it in a uniquely Japanese style and offered easier teachings that allowed many people could understand Zen Buddhism and feel it was personally relevant to them. He also wrote "Hekiganroku" and gave lectures. It is said he had vast knowledge. He showed an excellent talent for painting, calligraphy and writing from an early age and left many Buddhist paintings and caricatures of animals and persons in which we can see his own painting style, which blends immediacy and wit. Through "Yasenkanna", a medical essay in which he described practical treatments like breathing methods, and other books telling us about the spirit of Zen Buddhism in a simple way, his teachings even now touch many people's hearts. In 1768, he died at the age of 84 at Shouin Temple, Suruga, where he had lived most of his life. |
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| Houan, a unique painter who switched from Western-style painting to the Japanese style, was born in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, in 1881. He left for Tokyo in 1898 and began his studies under Ioki Fumiya, a Western-style painter. In 1910, he sent "Suigo " to the Bunten Exhibition, where it won first prize. He went to Europe to study painting in 1913 and, during the reconstruction of the Nihon Bijuesuin(Japan Arts Institute), he took the initiative in the Western-style painting section the next year but, in 1920, left the Academy after the Western-style painting section was closed down. In 1927 he followed the monk Matsuo Basho's journeys to the northeast and the northwest part of Japan which Basho described in his book, "Okuno-hosomichi", which inspired his interest in drawings in India ink. Changing his pen name to "Houan" after traveling to China in 1929, Kosugi sent his painting entitled "Gyosho-kanwa" to the Shunyo-kai Exhibition and broke new ground with his launch into drawings in India ink. He became a member of Teikoku Geijutsuin (the Japan Imperial Academy of Arts) in 1935 and began to produce works based on stories of historical persons, such as Ryokan and Basho, as his subject matter in the 1940s. With his prominent talent for writing, and fluid, Asian painting style, his works were praised as "modern intellectual paintings". In his last years, living in the Myoko highlands of Niigata prefecture, he produced a number of masterpieces in his own well-known style. He died at the age of 83 at his house in the Myoko highlands on April 16, 1964. |
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| Yokoyama was born in Niigata Prefecture in 1920. After graduating from junior high school, he began his studies in Tokyo under Gazan Ishikawa who was a Western-style painter belonging to the Kofukai group. His oil painting entitled "Machi-ura" was accepted for the 25th exhibition of the Kofukai group but, following Gazan's advice, he switched to Japanese-style painting and entered the Kawabata Art School. He won prizes Shinko Bijutsuten at (the Exhibition of the Academy of Rising Arts) in 1940 and at the 12th Seiryu-Ten (Seiryu Exhibition). These achievements drew the praise of Ryushi Kawabata, a famous Japanese-style painter. One series of works of Misao Yokoyama are striking for their energetic and passionate use of black. He was called up for World War II as a soldier and was interned in Siberia until the end of the War. On returning home, he became very prolific and established himself as an energetic Japanese-style painter drawing traditional subjects using modern methods. He became a member of the Seiryu Group in 1958 and his "Kiyo" won the prize of excellence at the 5th Japan International Art Exhibition. He became interested in images of Mt. Fuji at that time, and started to produce a series on Mt. Fuji from 1962. Many of this series are regarded as masterpieces, ranked with paintings by Hokusai and Taikan. He was invited to be a professor at Tama Art College by his friend Matazo Kayama and trained the younger generation. In 1968, he held an exhibition of a series of "Koshiji-jikkei" drawn in India ink, but he had a heart attack while traveling in the US and also had a stroke in the same year. Suffering from paralysis on the right side, he started painting with his left hand in accordance with his belief that a painter could not count himself a painter unless he was able to produce pictures. In 1973, he had another stroke and died on April 1. |
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| Atsushi Uemura, a distinguished painter in the bird-and-flower genre of Japanese painting, was born in Kyoto in 1933. When he was a student at Kyoto City University of Art, his "Youin" and "Karita" were accepted for Shinseisaku-kyokai syunkiten(the spring exhibition of the New Creation Association), and "Shigi A" and "Shigi B", his graduation works, were purchased by the College. In 1959, at the age of 23, he won the highest prize at Shinseisaku-kyokai syunkiten (the spring exhibition of the New Creation Association), which made him famous as a Japanese-style painter. Since then, Uemura has been awarded every time he has exhibited his works: he won the New Creator Prize five times and a pair of "Shin" gained the Sogakai prize for 1978. He produced "Soukaku" for the prime minister's official residence in 1987.He sent a large-scale work to the Seville World Exposition in 1992, which has been earning a higher reputation with each passing year. In 1995, he was awarded by Nihon Geijutsu (the Japan Academy of Arts), as was his father Shoko Uemura, for his extended contributions to Japanese arts by breaking new ground in Japanese-style painting.Atsushi Uemura is worthy of be called "the painter at the vanguard of Japanese arts". He comes from a distinguished family in Japanese-style painting: his grandmother was Shoen Uemura, a great painter in the Bijinga genre, and his father was Shoko Uemura, an authority in the Japanese art world. Although influenced by their styles, he has firmly established his own original painting style. |
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| It is said that Sojun Ikkyu was a son of the Emperor Gokomatsu. He was brought up in honest poverty at a Zen Temple and was spiritually awakened byhard ascetic practices. "Ikkyu Boy", a popular Japanese popular story of ayoung and mischievous novice, tells us anecdotes of his Zen practices at an early age. But, after reaching the prime of life, he came to be known for his eccentric views that appeared to violate the precepts of Zen Buddhism and his denial of the need for rules, which may have resulted from Ikkyu's sincere desire to reveal the truth behind Zen Buddhism - or may have been a warning from Ikkyu to society which was in danger of fragmenting at that time. In 1474, he was appointed the 47th head priest of Daitoku Temple, Kyoto. The temple had been burned down in the Onin War and Ikkyu succeeded in reconstructing it. He was on friendly terns with the cultural elite and, especially, it is well known that he gave teachings to Jyuko Murata, the founder of Sado, the Japanese tea ceremony: the spirit of "austere refinement" seen in the tea ceremony is thought to have originated in Ikkyu's teachings. In 1481, he died at Shuon Temple, Kyoto, at the age of 88. Much of his life is still cloaked in mystery. Sojun Ikkyu revealed his creative and pure life through calligraphy, poetry and paintings and each work has been handed down over generations as a masterpiece telling us of the times he lived through. In particular, his calligraphy is considered to most closely embody the spirit of human freedom in Zen Buddhism, and, because the heart of Zen Buddhism is said to relate closely with that of the Japanese tea ceremony, it is used for hanging scrolls at tea ceremonies. |
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| Soho Takuan, known as Bonze Takuan, was born in Tamba (now Hyogo Prefecture) in 1573. He entered the priesthood at a tender age and, after undergoing hard ascetic practices, he was allowed to study Buddhism in greater depth at Nanso Temple, a Zen Buddhist Temple at Sakai, Osaka. He kept up his studies under several Buddhist teachers, including Sochu Kunpo of the Daitoku Temple sect and Soen Shun-oku. Permitted to use the name "Ittou-Shoteki" as a official disciple of Shun-oku, at the age of 37, he was appointed as the135th head priest of Daitoku Temple, Kyoto. He was exiled to the Dewa District, in the northeastern part of Japan, because he had publicly opposed the Tokugawa Shogunate government in the Shii Case of 1629. (The Shogunate government confiscated a purple canonical robe given to a priest by the Imperial Court). It is said that Bonze Takuan gained yet more fame with his firm stand of sticking to his principles and defying authority. In 1645, Takuan ended his highly principled life of 73 years at the Tokai Temple of Shinagawa, Tokyo, without ever being a slave to authority, fame or status, seeking the mental state of selflessness. The Zen priest Takuan, who displayed a talent for poetry, calligraphy and painting at an early age, had a great influence on Munenori Yagyu of theYagyu Shinkage school and Iemitsu Tokugawa, the third shogun, as well as experts in the tea ceremony, such as Soutan Sen and Enshu Kobori. He wrote "Fudo-chishin-myoroku" in which he stated that one could seek the identical truth via Bushido or in Zen Buddhism. His calligraphy, which shows a deep spirituality based on a wide knowledge of the Japanese and Chinese classics, is still studied admiringly by experts in the tea ceremony. |
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| Ryokan was born in 1758, the first son in a noble family in Izumozaki in the Echigo District. He entered the priesthood at the age of 18 and was given the Buddhist name "Ryokan" when he was 22 years old. He kept searching forthe ultimate truths through his life. Leaning the Chinese classics and poetry at Entsu Temple of the Sodo Sect in Tamashima in the Bichu District, he practiced hard asceticism under Priest Kokusen for 20 years. After this, he traveled all over the country on foot and returned to his home village just before the age of 40. He lived at the Gogoan hut in Kokujyo Temple on Mt. Kugami, and then moved down to a thatched hut in Otoko Shrine at the foot of the Mountain. It is said that he enjoyed writing traditional Japanese poetry, Chinese poetry and calligraphy all through his simple, carefree and unselfish life. He was also called "Temari-Shonin (The Priest who Plays with a Temari ball)" and was much loved by children, since he often played with a Temari ball (Japanese cotton-wound ball), Ohajiki (small glass counters for playing games) together with children in the mountain village. Much of his poetry and letters which still remain, all of which are full of his sympathy and affection for children, describe his joyful times with children and also reveal his high personal qualities as a man who devoted his life to meditation. Ryokan was a Zen priest, but he never established his own temple, and lived by alms. Instead of preaching, he enjoyed companionship and conversation with many ordinary people. In 1831, he ended his 74-year life as an honest priest respected and loved by all he knew. |
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| Kokushi (meaning 'Most Reverend Priest') Daito is well known as a major figure in the Rinzai sect. He actively explored and developed the culture of Zen Buddhism from the late Kamakura period to the Namboku period and is also famous as the founder of Daitoku Temple in Kyoto, which later became a major center of the Japanese tea ceremony. He was born in Harima (now Hyogo Prefecture) in 1282 and started studying Buddhism at the age of 11. It is said he was superior to other students in natural talent and had a photographic memory. As a monk practicing asceticism, he went on pilgrimage to Kyoto and Kamakura, studied under Kennichi Koho at Manju Temple and received the Buddhist name "Syuho." In 1305, he was given the chance to study under Jyomiyo Nampo, a famous and high-ranking priest. He succeeded Priest Nampo and was accepted as a Zen priest when he was only 26. He succeeded in converting many emperors, including the retired Emperor Hanazono and the Emperor Godaigo, to Zen Buddhism. In 1326, he opened a small temple in Shino, Kyoto, which became the foundation of Daitoku Temple and, as the founder of Daitoku Temple, he was given the title of Kokushi (the Most Reverend Priest) by the retired Emperor Hanazono. The Most Reverend Priest Kokushi Daito, who offered teachings of principle from a generous and understanding viewpoint, and who became the torch-bearer for the orthodox style of Japanese traditional Zen Buddhism, died at the age of 56 in December, 1337. Kokushi Daito was not only a great Zen priest: he was also a major poet and calligrapher. His calligraphic works are regarded as the most accomplished of all Japanese calligraphic works which have survived. |
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| Rikyu Sen, who lived a lonely but noble life as the great master of the Japanese tea ceremony, was born in Sakai, Osaka, 1522. His real name was Yoshiro Tanaka. He was interested in the tea ceremony and learned it under Kitamukai Dochin and Jyouoh Takeno. When he was 19, he was allowed to study Zen Buddhism at Daitoku Temple and was given the Buddhist name of "Soeki." From about the year 1568 when Nobunaga Oda opened a rapprochement with the emperor in Kyoto, he served as Nobunaga's head of tea ceremony. After Nobunaga Oda was assassinated at Honnoji Temple in 1582, he served Hideyoshi Toyotomi, but it is also said that he disagreed with Hideyoshi, who wanted the tea ceremony to be grand and lavish, from the start. He attended a commemorative tea ceremony when Hideyoshi became a kanpaku (Chief Advisor of the Emperor), using the name of "Rikyu" for the first time, and supported Hideyoshi in his position there. Since that time, he used this name and served loyally as the main master of tea ceremonies held by Hideyoshi. He is said to have had great influence on Hideyoshi, but on February 13, 1591, Hideyoshi, who believed he had been insulted by Rikyu Sen and needed to save face publicly, put him under house arrest in Sakai. Two weeks later, Rikyu Sen committed harakiri at his own house in Kyoto. He died at the age of 70. Rikyu Sen was regarded as the preeminent master of Japanese tea ceremony. He promoted the ideal of subdued refinement throughout his life. He is still regarded with great respect. |
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| Jyuko was born in Nara in the mid-Muromachi period. He developed an interest in Japanese tea ceremony at an early age and studied it and Zen Buddhism under Priest Ikkyu of Daitoku Temple. When he was certified as a Zen priest after hard ascetic practices there, he was allowed to create a calligraphic work representing 'diligence for spiritual awakening.' He was the first priest to introduce calligraphic works to the Japanese tea ceremony, so he was also called "Bokuseki-Kaizan (meaning 'Great Calligraphic Priest')." He is said to have attained a special form of spiritual awakening, under the teachings of Priest Ikkyu, having reached the understanding that the heart of Japanese tea ceremony was similar to the spirit of Zen Buddhism. It is said that he began to paint pictures under the influence of the Zen priests of Daitoku Temple who attained great achievements in Japanese India-ink drawings; he was also known as a painter of the first rank for his original painting style which revealed his deep spirituality. In his later years, he devoted his life to the austere refinements of the tea ceremony, living at a thatched hut in Kyoto. He died at the age of 80 on May 15, 1502, twenty years before the birth of Rikyu Sen, the "Great Master of Japanese Tea Ceremony." He later came to be called "the founder of the austere refinement of the tea ceremony " because of his special emphasis on the beauty of meditative philosophy and the spirit of "understated refinement." It is said that Rikyu Sen respected Jyuko as a "master" and loved using fine tools for tea ceremony and hanging scrolls in Jyuko's favorite styles. |
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| In 1889, Chikkyo Ono was born in Kasahara, now Okayama, facing the Seto Inland Sea. He came from a family distinguished in the arts: his grandfather was Tanan shiraga, a painter of the Nanshu painting style, and, his older brother was Ono Chikuto, a Japanese-style painter. On his brother's insistence, Chikkyo became a disciple of Seiho Takeuchi, an authority in Kyoto painting circles, and studied in his school together with other gifted young disciples, including Shoen Uemura, Suiho Nishiyama and Bakusen Tsuchida . His "Yamaie-no-haru" was accepted for the first Bunten Exhibition of 1907 and "Shima-Nisaku," in the late Impressionist style, won the special prize at the same Exposition of 1916. However, Chikkyo's style was so strongly influenced by contemporary Western paintings that he was excluded at the next Bunten Exposition. For this reason, in 1918, he established the "Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai (Domestic Painting Creation Association)" that propounded the ideal of complete creative freedom, in cooperation with other painters, such as Bakusen Tsuchida, Kagaku murakami and Shiho Sakakibara, who were dissatisfied with the direction of the existing Bunten Exposition, and breathed new life into the Japanese art world. In 1976, Chikkyo completed "Okuno-hosomichi-kumyoe" as a tribute to Basho, the great haiku poet, and its clear, vivid beautiful colors made people call him "The Colorist." In the same year, he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit and was made an honorary citizen both of Kasahara City, Okayama Prefecture, and of Kyoto. He died in 1979. His painting style portrays the simple beauty of nature he saw around him in each season. |
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| Junsaku Koizumi was born in Kamakura in 1924. After graduating from the Japanese-style painting department of Tokyo Fine Art School (now the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music), he continued studying under Kyujin Yamamoto. After his "Hanabi" and "Tokoya-nite" were accepted for the 18th exposition of Shinseisaku-kyokai (the New Production Association) in 1954, he went on to win more than ten prizes at the above exposition. He sent "Wakarenohi" to the 2nd exposition of Yamatane Museum in 1973. The prize for excellence went to his "Okuizu-Hukei" at the fourth exposition in 1977. He has been actively sending works to various expositions, including the Exposition of the Tokyo Central Museum, where he has won many prizes. With the purchase of his "Yama-O-Kiru-michi" by the Ministry of Culture in 1978, he came to be widely known as a key Japanese painter. He has also shown talent in a wide range of arts including calligraphy and ceramic art. He creates a unique atmosphere with an original touch, and is breaking new ground in the contemporary Japanese-style painting world. His India-ink drawings exhibited in his one-man show of 1984, which created a sensation, are admired for their large scale, realism, and fine detail. Since then, his series of works drawn in India-ink using his original techniques have come to be regarded as masterpieces in the field of modern Japanese-style painting. |
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| Born in Kyobashi, Tokyo, 1889. His real name is Yoshizo Okumura. He started to study painting in the school of Hanko Kajita and learned much from Kokei Kobayashi, the head of the school. It may be said that Dogyu was a rather late-developing painter, but experts in the arts regard his early works as masterpieces too; he left works that carry on the tradition of Japanese-style painters. In 1913, he became a student at Nihon Bijutsuin(the Japan Art Institute), took part in a society for the study of Gyoshu Hayami from the end of the Taisho period, and won a prize for the first time at the 14th Inten Exhibition. After this, he won prizes for his rich use of color, unique in Japanese-style paintings, every year at the above exhibition. Dogyu, now regarded as "the jewel in the crown of Japanese modern painting," created a long series of masterpieces and works representing new departures throughout his lifetime. He was always active at the forefront of the artistic world. In his long creative lifetime, his most splendid achievements are clustered after he reached the age of 60.He enjoyed sketching Mt. Fuji in the later stages of his life. Dogyu joined Teikoku Bijutsuin(the Imperial Academy of Arts) and Nihon Geijutsuin(the Japan Academy of Arts), was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 1962 and served as a director of Nihon Bijutsuin(the Japan Art Institute) in 1978. He ended his century-long life in 1990. |
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| Born in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, 1884. His real first name is Shinzaburo. When he was 13, he was deeply struck by the works of Kanzan Shimonura and Shunso Hishida and decided to become a painter. Yukihiko Yasuda's talent was hailed early on by Tenshin Okakura, a leading figure in the art world of the time. In 1942, at the age of only 14, he sent his first work to the 1st exposition of Nihon Bijutsuin(the Japan Art Institute) and later accomplished the splendid feat of winning a prize at the 1st Bunten Exposition when he was 23. This enhanced his reputation as a young genius in the art world. In the 70 years since then, he has been continuously active at the forefront of the artistic world. He won the Asahi Culture Prize in 1942. He became a professor at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and also served as the chairperson of Nihon Bijutsuin(the Japan Art Institute). After World War II, he created a series of masterworks, especially in the historical painting genre. Yasuda was deeply impressed with the bold lines observed in the wall-paintings of Horyu Temple and Yamato-e, (traditional Japanese paintings) so he actively adopted the techniques of Japanese traditional paintings into his works, developed the painting style and completed his original "New Classic" techniques. On the other hand, he was engaged in the projects for the preservation and reproduction of the wall-paintings in the Golden Hall of Horyu Temple and, in 1948, he was awarded the Order of Culture for his great contribution to the administration of cultural assets as a member of the National Treasure Preservation Association and of the Cultural Assets Special Council. He died at his own house in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1978. |
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| Hoshun Yamaguchi was born in Hokkaido in 1893. He learned both Japanese-style and Western-style painting at Tokyo Fine Arts School (the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music) and won prizes three times in a row at the Nikaten exhibitions while still a student, clearly displaying a talent for painting at an early age. After graduating from the School in 1926 at the head of his class, he won two major prizes, the highest prize and the Prize of the Exhibition of Teikoku Bijutsuin(the Impe rial Academy of Art) for his large-scale work entitled "Sankumano-no-Nachi-no-oyama " which was later purchased by the Imperial Household Agency. After this, he regularly exhibited works in new styles and continued to stimulate new developments in the Japanese art world. His painting style was all his own: he applied the clear composition and colors of Western-style painting to the traditional subjects of Japanese-style painting. He then further developed this style and established novel techniques on which he based his "new Japanese-style painting." As described above, he always acted as a leader in the Japanese art world; his achievements are an example to be emulated by young painters in future generations. It is no exaggeration to say that he played a key role in the development of the contemporary Japanese art world. Due to his great contributions to Japanese art, Yamaguchi was selected as a member of Nihon Geijutsuin (the Japan Academy of Arts) and in 1965 was awarded the Order of Culture. |