Cherry Tree and Japan Art
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The stunning print above is by Kawabata Gyokusho (1842-1913). He studied under Nakajima Raisho when he was only eleven years old. Therefore, he became familiar with the art school of Maruyama.
All three art pieces focus on the lore of cherry trees in the land of the rising sun. Hence, for each viewer, a memory or two will flood back.
The second art piece is by Tomikichiro Tokuriki (1902-1999). He was born in the cultural city of Kyoto. Interestingly, all three art pieces in this article were completed during the early Showa Period of Japanese history.
The British Museum says, “The last of a long line of traditional-style painters, he turned early to woodblock prints and became a leader of the Kyoto ‘Sosaku Hanga’. He graduated from the Kyoto City School of Fine Arts and Crafts and then from the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting in 1924.”
The final art piece is by Tsuchiya Kōitsu. He was born in 1870 and died in 1949 during the post-war period.
The Koller Collection of Asian Art says, “He continued to produce lithographs until 1905, when he began to suffer from lung inflammation and work in the medium became potentially fatal. After abandoning lithography and working primarily in painting for nearly three decades, Kōitsu started designing more landscapes for woodblock prints (fukei-ga) in 1931. His return to printmaking is typically traced to the apocryphal meeting with esteemed print publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885–1962) at a memorial exhibition commemorating Kiyochika.”
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