Kamisaka Shōtō

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View of Keage, around 1920

Camellia, around 1920

Kamisaka Shōtō ( Japanese 神 坂 松濤 , real first name Bennosuke (辨 之 助), born in Kyoto in 1882 ; died 1954 ) was a Japanese painter of the Nihonga direction during the Taishō and Shōwa period .

life and work

Kamisaka Shōtō was born in the Nanzenji-Kitanobōchō district in the Sakyō district of Kyoto. He was the fourth of six brothers, an older one was Kamisaka Sekka (神 坂 雪 佳; 1866–1942), also a painter and now the better known of the two. A younger brother, Kamisaka Yūkichi (神 坂 祐吉; 1886–1938), became an artisan with lacquer art. He was later supported in handicrafts by his older brothers.

Shōtō studied painting at the private school of Kikuchi Hōbun (菊池 芳 文; 1862-1918) painting in the Nihonga style, but switched to Shōgoin-Yōgakenkyūjo (聖 護 院 洋 画 研究所) in 1905 and studied "painting in the western style" ( Yōga ) under Asai Chu . When in 1906 the "Kansai Bijutsu-in" (関 西 美術 院) arose, he moved there. At the time he was working in the embroidery department of the Takashimaya department store in Kyoto, creating designs for them. At the 5th "Kokunai kangyō hakurankai" (国内 勧 業 博 覧 会), an exhibition to promote the economy, he exhibited a weaving piece on which a peasant woman with a horse could be seen.

He also started exhibiting his paintings at this time. As a Nihonga painter he exhibited at the “Kokunai his kaiga kyōshin-kai” (国内 青年 絵 画 共進 会), “Kokunai kaiga kyōshin-kai” (国内 絵 画 共進 会), “Nihon bijutsu kyōkai-ten” (日本 美術 協会)展), “Shinko bijutsuhin-ten” (新 古 美術品 展) and elsewhere and also received awards. However, he did not commit to one style, but also painted landscapes and flowers in the western style with great attention to detail. There are also works in the Art Nouveau style, i.e. in a decorative manner. The painter colleague Suda Kunitarō (1891–1961) found that Shōtō made too little of his talent. From 1932 onwards, in response to Suda's criticism, he began to show at solo exhibitions.

literature

• National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (ed.): Kamisaka Shōtō In: Kyōto no Nihonga 1910–1930. National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 1986. ISBN 4-87642-117-X .

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Kamisaka is the family name, Shōtō the first name.