Shijo school
Encyclopedia
Japanese painting
is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of...
founded by Maruyama Ōkyo
Maruyama Okyo
, born Maruyama Masataka, was a Japanese artist active in the late 18th century. He moved to Kyoto, during which he studied artworks from Chinese, Japanese and Western sources. A personal style of Western naturalism mixed with Eastern decorative design emerged, and Ōkyo founded the Maruyama school...
, and his former student Matsumura Goshun
Matsumura Goshun
Matsumura Goshun , sometimes also referred to as Matsumura Gekkei , was a Japanese Painter of the Edo Period and founder of the Shijō school of painting...
in the late 18th century. This school was one of several that made up the larger Kyoto school
Kyoto school (art)
The Kyoto school was a collection of several styles and schools of Japanese painting of the late Edo period. Though there are many broad similarities between the styles within the school, these styles display key differences that separate them...
. The school is named after the street in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
where many major artists were based; Shijo literally translates to "fourth avenue." Its primary patrons were rich merchants in and around Kyoto/Osaka and also appealed to the 'kamigata' who were of the established aristocrat and artisan families of the Imperial capital during the late 18th/19th centuries.
Stylistically, the Shijō style can best be described as a synthesis of two rival styles of the time. Maruyama Ōkyo
Maruyama Okyo
, born Maruyama Masataka, was a Japanese artist active in the late 18th century. He moved to Kyoto, during which he studied artworks from Chinese, Japanese and Western sources. A personal style of Western naturalism mixed with Eastern decorative design emerged, and Ōkyo founded the Maruyama school...
was an experienced and expert painter of sumi-e ink paintings, and accomplished a great degree of realism in his creations, emphasizing direct observation of depicted subjects which was a direct contravention of the officially sponsored schools of the time, Kanō
Kano school
The ' is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting until the Meiji period.It was founded by Kanō Masanobu , a contemporary of Sesshū and student of Shūbun...
and Tosa
Tosa
Tosa can refer to:*Japanese terms:**Geography:***In Kōchi Prefecture****Tosa, Kōchi ****Tosa, Kōchi , a town****Tosa District, Kōchi***Tosa province or Tosa Domain, now known as Kōchi Prefecture**Tosa dialect...
, which emphasized decorativeness with highly formalized and stylized figures taught to its students via copying paintings of past masters. The Kanō
Kano school
The ' is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting until the Meiji period.It was founded by Kanō Masanobu , a contemporary of Sesshū and student of Shūbun...
and Tosa
Tosa school
The Tosa school of Japanese painting was founded in the 15th century, and was devoted to yamato-e, which are paintings specializing in subject matter and techniques derived from ancient Japanese art, as opposed to schools influenced by Chinese art....
schools had become bywords for rigid formalism by this time. Meanwhile, a number of artists, rebelling against Ōkyo's realism, formed the nanga (southern pictures) school, basing their style largely on the Southern school
Southern School
-Brief:The Southern School of Chinese painting, often called "literati painting" , is a term used to denote art and artists which stand in opposition to the formal Northern School of painting...
of Chinese painting
Chinese painting
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals...
. The artists of the Shijō school sought to reconcile the differences between these two styles, creating works that synthesized the best elements of both.
The school's style focuses on a Western-influenced objective realism, but achieved with traditional Japanese painting techniques. It concentrates less on the exact depiction of its subject, but rather on expressing the 'inner spirit' and usually has an element of playfulness and humor compared to the Maruyama school. Popular motifs include tranquil landscapes, kachō (bird and flower), animals, and traditional subjects from Chinese poetic and Confucian lore, but there is generally little or no interest in legends, history, or classical literature.
One of the most well-known Shijō artists in the West is Mori Sosen
Mori Sosen
was a Japanese painter of the Shijō school during the Edo period.Mori Sosen is famous for his many paintings depicting monkeys and other animals. Robert van Gulik called him "an undisputed master" of the painting of the Japanese macaque...
, who is known for his great number of paintings of monkeys. Shibata Zeshin
Shibata Zeshin
was a famous and revolutionary Japanese painter and lacquerer of the late Edo period and early Meiji era. In Japan, he is ironically known as both too modern, a panderer to the Westernization movement, and also an overly conservative traditionalist who did nothing to stand out from his contemporaries...
is also closely associated with the Shijō school, though he worked in many other styles and mediums, most notably lacquer objects and lacquer painting.
Shijō artists of note
- Matsumura GoshunMatsumura GoshunMatsumura Goshun , sometimes also referred to as Matsumura Gekkei , was a Japanese Painter of the Edo Period and founder of the Shijō school of painting...
- Maruyama ŌkyoMaruyama Okyo, born Maruyama Masataka, was a Japanese artist active in the late 18th century. He moved to Kyoto, during which he studied artworks from Chinese, Japanese and Western sources. A personal style of Western naturalism mixed with Eastern decorative design emerged, and Ōkyo founded the Maruyama school...
- Mori SosenMori Sosenwas a Japanese painter of the Shijō school during the Edo period.Mori Sosen is famous for his many paintings depicting monkeys and other animals. Robert van Gulik called him "an undisputed master" of the painting of the Japanese macaque...
- Kikuchi Yōsai
- Ohara Shoson (Koson)
- Shibata ZeshinShibata Zeshinwas a famous and revolutionary Japanese painter and lacquerer of the late Edo period and early Meiji era. In Japan, he is ironically known as both too modern, a panderer to the Westernization movement, and also an overly conservative traditionalist who did nothing to stand out from his contemporaries...