Kikuchi Yosai

Kikuchi Yosai, self-portrait at the age of 77.

Kikuchi Yōsai ( Japanese 菊池 容 斎 ; * November 28, 1781 ; † June 16, 1878 ), also known as Kikuchi Takeyasu ( 菊池 武 保 ) and Kawahara Ryōhei , was a Japanese painter who is known for his monochrome portraits of historical figures.

He was the son of a samurai named Kawahara (河 原) from Edo and was adopted by the Kikuchi family, long-time followers of the Tokugawa clan. At the age of 18, Kikuchi Yōsai became a student of the painter Takata Enjō . After studying at the schools Kanō, Shijō and Maruyama (probably under Ozui, a son of Maruyama Ōkyo ) he developed his characteristic style, which is compared with that of Tani Buncho .

His most impressive work of monochrome portraits is the Zenken Kojitsu (前賢 故 実), a collection of hero portraits from Japanese history. The more than 500 ink portraits are based on historical and even archaeological studies by the artist, were completed in 1836 and appeared in print form in ten volumes in 1868.

One of his best pictures is the "Night Attack on Horikawa" (堀 川 夜 討 ち, Horikawa youchi). The framed picture is owned by the Sensō-ji in Tōkyō. - Yosai was buried in the Yanaka cemetery .

literature

• Article in the Encyclopædia Britannica 1911
• Louis Frederic: Japan Encyclopedia . Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2002
• Tazawa, Yutaka: Kikuchi Yōsai - In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .

Web links

Commons : Kikuchi Yōsai  - collection of images, videos and audio files

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