Japanese artists in portrait

Here we introduce the Japanese artists whose works we carry at Densho - painters of the Nihonga and Nanga tradition as well as ceramicists from Bizen, Hagi or Oribe. The portraits range from the Edo period to contemporary craftspeople and cover career, style and recurring motifs. Learn more about the techniques and traditions behind them under Knowledge.

ArtistsTokuda RinsaiPupil of Takeuchi Seihō, prizewinner at the early Bunten and teacher at Kyōto's art schools: Tokuda Rinsai (徳田隣斎) belongs to the generation that carried Kyōto painting into the Shōwa period.View topic
ArtistsMochizuki KinpōHe was known as the “Tanuki-Kinpō”: Mochizuki Kinpō (望月金鳳) came from Ōsaka, served as a civil servant in Tokyo and Hokkaidō and went on to become one of the distinguished animal painters of the Meiji period.View topic
ArtistsKatsushika HokusaiMore than thirty artist names, some seventy years of work and a wave that went around the world: Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) drew, painted and designed woodblock prints until the year of his death.View topic
ArtistsKanō TanyūGrandson of Kanō Eitoku, painter to the Shōgun, holder of the highest rank for painters: Kanō Tanyū (狩野探幽) gave Edo-period painting its light form, carried by empty space.View topic
ArtistsKō SūkokuKō Sūkoku (高嵩谷, 1730–1804) was a painter of the Hanabusa school in Edo. He worked in the tradition of Hanabusa Itchō and painted historical, figure, and actor pictures.View topic
ArtistsIkeda KeisenIkeda Keisen (池田桂仙, 1863–1931) was a Nanga painter in Kyōto and in 1921 was among the founders of the Nihon Nangain.View topic
ArtistsSasaki ShōrakuSasaki Shōraku (佐々木昭楽) is a Raku ware pottery workshop in Kameoka near Kyōto, founded in 1905. The signatures 昭楽 and 松楽 denote different levels of production.View topic
ArtistsMōri BaiyūMōri Baiyū (毛利梅友, 1871–1953) was a Nanga painter in Nagoya. He studied under Tanomura Chokunyū and founded his own society for Nanshū painting.View topic
ArtistsKanō Isen'in NaganobuKanō Naganobu (狩野栄信, 1775–1828), gō Isen'in, was the eighth head of the Kobikichō house. He combined the Kanō tradition with the spatial depth of Qing painting.View topic
ArtistsMiyamoto MusashiMiyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵, 1584–1645) was a swordsman and ink painter. Under the artist name Niten, he created works that are now recognized as Important Cultural Property.View topic
ArtistsYamaguchi DaichiAbbot of the Kōrin-in at the Daitoku-ji complex, whose dynamic bokuseki calligraphies combine Zen practice and Japanese tea culture.View topic
ArtistsTakaku RyūkoTakaku Ryūko (高久隆古, 1810–1858) combined Nanga and the revival of Yamato-e. He succeeded Takaku Aigai, who had died without children.View topic
ArtistsMurata TōhoMurata Tōho (村田東圃) was a painter of the Nanga school who was active in the first half of the 19th century. He taught Asō Tōkoku and was the adoptive father of the literati painter Murata Kōkoku.View topic
ArtistsŌhi ChōŌhi Chō (大樋長) stands for Ōhi ware from Kanazawa, a secondary kiln of the Raku tradition. Characteristic is the amber-colored Ame glaze.View topic
ArtistsFukui KōteiFukui Kōtei (福井江亭, 1866–1937) studied under Kawabata Gyokushō and worked in the Maruyama tradition.View topic
ArtistsKanō Norinobu (Eisen'in)Kanō Norinobu (狩野典信, 1730–1790) led the Kobikichō Kanō house to its greatest flourishing and renewed the school through a return to Chinese brushwork.View topic
ArtistsAmano ShuryoNihonga painter of the Taishō period, whose delicate bird-and-flower paintings (Kachō-ga) continue the classical Japanese tradition of nature painting.View topic
ArtistsOhi ChorakuCeramics master of the venerable Ōhi-yaki tradition from Kanazawa, who perfected the characteristic amber-colored Ameyu glaze.View topic
ArtistsTokuoka ShinsenTokuoka Shinsen (徳岡神泉, 1896–1972) developed his own quiet pictorial style built from the finest ground layers. In 1966 he received the Order of Culture.View topic
ArtistsSakai SanryōSakai Sanryō (酒井三良, 1897–1969) painted life in the snow country of his home region of Fukushima. From 1924 he belonged to the core of the Nihon Bijutsuin.View topic
ArtistsOkajima SeikōOkajima Seikō (岡島清曠, 1827–1877) was a painter of the Shijō school and a student of Yokoyama Seiki. His work connects Kyōto with the painting tradition of Kaga.View topic
ArtistsKawachi HidetoshiKawachi Hidetoshi (河内英利) is a ceramic artist from Seto in Aichi Prefecture. He is known for dynamic Oribe ware in green, white and pink.View topic
ArtistsYagioka ShunzanYagioka Shunzan (八木岡春山, 1879–1942) studied old painting by copying it and became a central figure of the Japan Art Society.View topic
ArtistsŌtaki UzanŌtaki Uzan (大滝雨山) was a Japanese painter and teacher. His students included Awaji Saisō, who also studied under Hirafuku Hyakusui.View topic

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