People | WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN? Apr 13, 2019
Masaya Nakayama: Keeping an eye on the art of subtraction
by Katherine Whatley
Finding artistic freedom in New York, Osaka-born artist finds new expressions for Japanese-style painting.
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Art Aug 21, 2018
Tanaka Isson: Better late than never
by Matthew Larking
Limited success in Tokyo led Tanaka Isson (1908-77) to burn his sketchbooks, sell his house, and move to Oshima, where he lived in near poverty painting in a vibrant style that posthumously captured the nation's heart.
Art Jun 26, 2018
Yokoyama Taikan: Driven by loyalty
by Matthew Larking
Yokoyama Taikan (1868-1958) is inarguably the definitive artist in creating pictorial and organizational frameworks inaugurating and furthering modern nihonga (Japanese painting.
Art Apr 3, 2018
When art met craft in Meiji Era Japan
by Matthew Larking
The focus of "The 150th Anniversary of the Meiji Period: Making and Designing Meiji Arts and Crafts" at The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, concerns the relationship between nihonga (Japanese-style) painters of Kyoto and craft production during a time when craft and design ...
Art Oct 24, 2017
Motonobu: The father of Kano styles
by Jeff Michael Hammond
A family-run enterprise, the Kano school of painting was a consistent force in Japan's art world for more than 300 years, from the Muromachi Period (1336-1573) up until its fortune waned in the 19th century. "Celebrating a Decade in Roppongi, Kano Motonobu: All Under ...
Art Jul 25, 2017
Straddling East and West in art
by Jeff Michael Hammond
Hybridity and eclecticism may be key concepts in much contemporary art, yet they are not new phenomena. In the Taisho Era (1912-1926), Tetsugoro Yorozu virtually personified the idea of hybrid art: As Japan rushed toward modernization, he not only experimented with the very latest ...
Art / Openings In Tokyo Mar 15, 2016
'Kuniyoshi & Kunisada: From the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston'
by Daisuke Kikuchi
Ukiyo-e prints were once the equivalent of today's TV shows and magazines. During the Edo Period (1603- 1868), they often illustrated kabuki theater stars and portrayed the latest fashion trends, even at times serving as cosmetics catalogs or tourist guidebooks.
Art / Openings Outside Tokyo Mar 8, 2016
'Tomioka Tessai Retrospective'
by Daisuke Kikuchi
March 12-May 8 Described as the last artist to paint bunjinga (literati painting, influenced by traditional Chinese culture) and as one of the first to pursue nihonga (Japanese style painting), Tessai Tomioka (1836-1924) left behind many masterpieces. These include shinkei-zu paintings of scenery that he ...
Art / Openings Outside Tokyo Sep 1, 2015
'The Entire Okada Collection of Rimpa: Hakone Joins the Rimpa 400 Year Celebration'
by Daisuke Kikuchi
Sept. 5-March 31 Hakone, which is known for its landscapes of lakes, mountains and hot springs will join in the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Rimpa, one of the major schools of Japanese painting that excelled at depicting landscapes and nature. The Rimpa style is ...
Art Jun 2, 2015
by Alice Gordenker
Ask an art lover to name Japanese women artists active before the 20th century, and chances are they'll draw a blank, despite the fact that many highly accomplished women were painting in far-earlier times. Fortunately, there is now rising interest in understanding the lives and ...
Art May 5, 2015
Korin: the late bloomer with innovative in style
by Sachiko Tamashige
One of the joys of visiting Tokyo's Nezu Museum in early May, is to catch the annual showing of one of the museum's most famous works, Ogata Korin's "Irises," before stepping outside to appreciate the real irises blooming in its garden. This spring, Korin's "Red ...
Art Feb 26, 2015
Nihonga didn't ignore the West
by Matthew Larking
From the early 1880s, painting in Japan became bisected. Yōga was used to categorize works in oils that were inspired by European painting movements and nihonga became the umbrella term for a whole array of earlier Japanese painting traditions that were later modernized. The division ...