土田麦僊

Born in Inai-mura, Kamo-gun (the present Niibo, Sado-shi), Niigata on February 9, 1887 (Meiji 20). Real name Kinji. Bakusen entered Niibo Ordinary Elementary School in 1893 (Meiji 26) and showed talent in drawing from when he was a schoolboy. In 1901 (Meiji 34), he finished Niibo Higher Elementary School, where, from his student days, he used the pseudonyms “Hokuriku” and “Gyokuhō.” In 1903 (Meiji 36), he went to Kyoto and entered Chishakuin, but aspiring to become an artist, he ran away from the temple. He asked to become a pupil of Suzuki Shōnen and was taught by Shōnen’s son, Shōsen, who gave him the pseudonym Shōgaku. In 1904 (Meiji 37), after returning temporarily to his hometown, he went to Kyoto again. Seeing how a new school of painting was thriving at the 9th Shinkobijutsuhin-ten, he became a pupil of Takeuchi Seihō and received the pseudonym “Bakusen.” In 1905 (Meiji 38), he submitted “Early Summer” (The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum) to the 10th exhibition and won third place of the fourth prize. Thereafter, he continued participating in the Shinkobijustuhin-ten. He submitted “Afterglow” (fourth prize, Umi-Mori Art Museum, Hiroshima) to the 11th exhibition in 1906 (Meiji 39), “Song of Spring” (first place of the second prize, lost in a fire) to the 12th exhibition in 1907 (Meiji 40), “Tax Day” (second place of the second prize, lost in a fire) to the 14th exhibition in 1909 (Meiji 42), and “Haruyama no kasumiotoko” (second prize, whereabouts unknown) to the 15th exhibition in 1910 (Meiji 43), attracting attention as an exciting new artist in the Kyoto art circles. In 1908 (Meiji 41), “Punishment” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto), which Bakusen submitted to the 2nd Bunten (Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibition), won the third prize, and his name became known not only in Kyoto but in Tokyo too. In 1909 (Meiji 42), following the opening of Kyoto City Technical School of Painting (the present Kyoto City University of Arts), he entered the “bekka” (elective course) together with Ono Chikkyō and boarded at Takeuchi Seihō’s house. In 1910 (Meiji 43), he took part in founding a colloquium “Le Chat Noir” with the art historian Tanaka Kisaku and others. Although they aimed at creating new art, conflict of opinion among the members led to the dissolution of that group the following year, in 1911 (Meiji 44), and the formation of a new group “Le Masque.” That year, in 1911, Bakusen graduated from Kyoto City Technical School of Painting. His graduation work, “Hair” (University Art Museum, Kyoto City University of Arts), was also submitted to the 5th Bunten and won a certificate of merit. In 1912 (Meiji 45/Taisho 1), together with Ono Chikkyō, he left Seihō’s house and moved to Sōtai-in, a temple within Chion-in, Kyoto. “Island Women” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), which he submitted to the 6th Bunten that year, received a certificate of merit and was purchased by the Ministry of Education. The following year, in 1913 (Taisho 2), he submitted “Woman Divers” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto) to the 7th Bunten. These two works were strongly influenced by Western paintings such as those by Paul Gauguin. However, the works Bakusen submitted to the Bunten thereafter depicted motifs reflecting a yearning for classical Japanese and Oriental paintings. In 1914 (Taisho 3), he submitted “Scattering Flower Petals” (Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka) to the 8th Bunten and received a certificate of merit. In 1915 (Taisho 4), Bakusen married Ōmichi Chiyo, a Gion “maiko,” and moved to a new home at Awataguchi Sanjō Hiromichi. That year, he submitted “Oharame Girls” (third prize, Yamatane Museum of Art, Tokyo) to the 9th Bunten, and “Three Maiko” (whereabouts unknown) to the 10th Bunten in 1916 (Taisho 5). “Spring Birds and Flowers” (whereabouts unknown), an outright painting of flowers and birds, was submitted to the 11th Bunten in 1917 (Taisho 6) and proved popular, but it did not win a prize. Dissatisfaction about the judgment at the Bunten became one of the reasons for Bakusen, together with Murakami Kagaku, Sakakibara Shihō, Nonagase Banka, and Ono Chikkyō, to form Kokuga Sōsaku Kyōkai (Association for the Creation of National Painting) in 1918 (Taisho 7) as a place to freely present their works. At the first Kokuten (Kokuga Sōsaku Kyōkai Exhibition) held that year, Bakusen presented “Serving Girl in a Spa” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). In 1919 (Taisho 8), the Bunten was replaced by the Teiten (Imperial Fine Arts Academy Exhibition), and Bakusen was granted permission to exhibit without screening, but he did not take part. Instead, he submitted “Three Maiko” (burnt in a fire) to the 2nd Kokuten that year, and “Spring” (Noma Cultural Foundation, Tokyo) to the 3rd Kokuten in 1920 (Taisho 9). In 1921 (Taisho 10), he edited a collection of his own works entitled “Bakusen gashū,” which was published from Yamamoto Gasendō. In October that year, together with Kuroda Jūtarō, Ono Chikkyō, Nonagase Banka, and others, he set out on a journey to Europe and arrived in Paris in November. In 1922 (Taisho 11), he traveled around France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc. During this study tour in Europe, not only did Bakusen see Western art of all periods in different locations but he also purchased Western paintings and studied landscape and figure paintings done with Western painting materials. In March 1923 (Taisho 12), he left Paris and returned to Japan in May. Around that year, Bakusen set up an art research institute. This art school was later renamed Sannansha and then Sannanjuku. In 1924 (Taisho 13), as the fruit of having studied in Europe, he submitted “Maiko in a Garden” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), “Salmon” (The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum), “Vegetables” (private collection), “Oharame (Woman Peddlers from Ōhara, large underdrawing)” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto), etc. to the 4th Kokuten. In 1925 (Taisho 14), the Kokuten was reorganized and a yōga (Western-style painting) section was set up. In 1926 (Taisho 15/ Showa 1), he submitted “Poppies” (The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum), “Danseuse Suzue” (Musée Guimet, Paris), “Oharame (drawing)” and “Still Life—Salmon Slices and Sardines” (both Adachi Museum of Art, Shimane) to the 5th Kokuten. At another exhibition held that year, “Shōtokutaishi hōsan bijutsu-ten” (Art Exhibition in Honor of Prince Shōtoku), he presented “Quails” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto). In 1927 (Showa 2), he submitted “Oharame (Woman Peddlers from Ōhara)” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto), which he had been working on since his return from abroad, to the 6th Kokuten. That year, he received the Légion d’honneur Chevalier and the Ordre des Palmes académique Officier from the French government. In 1928 (Showa 3), he submitted “Morning Glories” (The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto) to the 7th Kokuten. However, the economic recession following the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 and other factors made it difficult to administer the association and Section One (Nihonga [Japanese-style painting]) of the Kokuga Sōsaku Kyōkai dissolved that year. In 1929 (Showa 4), Bakusen submitted “Poppies” (purchased by the Imperial Household Ministry, The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, Tokyo) to the 10th Teiten, marking his return to the “kanten” (government-sponsored art competitions) after a twelve-year-long blank. In 1930 (Showa 5), he was appointed as a Teiten judge and submitted “Dressed Up” (Tokyo National Museum) to the 11th Teiten held that year. Thereafter, he presented “Maiko Girls and Irises” (1931, the 12th Teiten, whereabouts unknown), “Korean Bench” (1933, the 14th Teiten, Kyoto City Museum of Art), and “Kakitsubata Iris” (1934, the 15th Teiten, lost in a fire). These works dating from the Showa era feature intellectual compositions and refined coloring and lines, demonstrating a style that is connected to the “neoclassicism” of the Saikō Inten (Reorganized Japan Art Institute Exhibition). In 1935 (Showa 10), Bakusen was appointed as a member of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy and strengthened his presence in the art world. During this period, Bakusen also participated in small group exhibitions, where he presented mainly paintings of flowers and birds. At “Shichigenkai,” an exhibition organized by Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, he presented numerous works including “Lotus Flowers” (private collection) and “Fine Day” (whereabouts unknown) at the 1st show (1930), “Oriental Melon” (The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama) at the 2nd show (1931), “Sunset Hibiscus” (Adachi Museum of Art) at the 3rd show (1932), “Camellia” (The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum) at the 4th show (1933), and “Songstress” (whereabouts unknown) at the 6th show (1935). At Seikōkai, a group sponsored by Gotō Shintarō, who ran the publishing company Zauhō Kankōkai, he presented “Peonies” and “Chrysanthemums” (both private collection) at the 1st show (1933) and “Lotus Flowers” (private collection) and “Maiko” (whereabouts unknown) at the 3rd show (1935). He also submitted “Maiko” (whereabouts unknown) to the 1st Shunkōkai Exhibition organized by Mitsukoshi in 1935. In his later years, Bakusen deepened his interest in the Korean Peninsula. In order to create the above-mentioned “Korean Bench,” he traveled to Korea in 1933 (Showa 8). He planned to go again the following year, but the second journey was cancelled due to his younger brother Tsuchida Kyōson’s death. In the autumn of 1935 (Showa 10), Bakusen was able to visit Korea again. On that occasion, he finished a large underdrawing for “House of a Courtesan” and began working on the final painting. However, in 1936 (Showa 21), he contracted a disease and died of pancreatic cancer on June 10. “House of a Courtesan” (National Museum of Korea) remained unfinished. His posthumous Buddhist name is “Bakusen-in Taikūchikō Koji” 麦僊院大空智光居士. (Nagashima Keiya / Translated by Ogawa Kikuko) (Published online: 2024-04-18）