Tani Buncho
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese literati
Literati
Literati may refer to:*Intellectuals or those who read and comment on literature*The scholar-bureaucrats or literati of imperial China**Literati painting, also known as the Southern School of painting, developed by Chinese literati...

 (bunjin) painter and poet.
He was the son of the poet Tani Rokkoku (1729-1809). As his family were retainers of the Tayasu Family and descendents of the eighth Tokugawa shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

, Bunchō inherited samurai status and received a stipend to meet the responsibilities this entailed. In his youth he began studying the painting techniques of the Kanō school
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...

 under Kato Bunrei (1706-82). After Bunrei's death, Bunchō worked with masters of other schools, such as the literati painter Kitayama Kangan (1767-1801), and developed a wide stylistic range that included many Chinese, Japanese and European idioms. He's best known for his crisp landscapes in the literati style (Nanga or Bunjinga).
Like most bunjinga
Nanga (Japanese painting)
, also known as , was a school of Japanese painting which flourished in the late Edo period among artists who considered themselves literati, or intellectuals. While each of these artists was, almost by definition, unique and independent, they all shared an admiration for traditional Chinese culture...

painters of his time, Bunchō focused largely on Chinese-inspired landscapes. Since travel outside Japan was forbidden under the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, Bunchō was unable to study in China; he spent many years in Nagasaki, therefore, studying Chinese art and Western art (洋画, Yōga) with the traders there.
Watanabe Kazan
Watanabe Kazan
was a Japanese painter, scholar and statesman member of the samurai class.- Early life :He was born Watanabe Sadayasu in Edo to a poor samurai family, and his artistic talent was developed from an early age. His family served the lord of the Tahara Domain, located in present day Aichi prefecture....

and Takaku Aigai were among his disciples.
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