菱田春草

Born as the third son of Hishida Enji, a feudal retainer of the former Iida domain, in Iidamachi, Ina-gun, Chikuma-ken (the present Iida-shi, Nagano) in 1874. Real name Mioji. After the Meiji Restoration, being good at arithmetic, Shunsō’s father, Enji, worked at Daihyakujushichi Bank. His elder brother, Tamekichi, became a teacher at Tokyo Butsuri Gakkō (Tokyo College of Science, present-day Tokyo University of Science), and his younger brother, Tadazō, a professor at Tokyo Imperial University Technical College (present-day University of Tokyo). The tendency for intellectual compositions which Shunsō was to later demonstrate may have been influenced by this scientific tendency in the family. In 1880, Shunsō entered Iida School, where he studied for eight years until 1888. For the last sixth months of his final school year, Nakamura Fusetsu, who arrived at that school as an art teacher, was in charge of Shunsō’s class. Upon graduating from Iida School, in 1889, Shunsō moved to Tokyo aspiring to become an artist. After studying at Yūki Masaaki’s private art school, in 1890, he entered Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkō (Tokyo Fine Arts School, present-day Tokyo University of the Arts), where he was taught by the thinker Okakura Tenshin, Hashimoto Gahō of the Kanō school, Kawabata Gyokushō of the Maruyama-Shijō school, the master of “yamato-e” Kose Shōseki, etc. As principal of the art school, Okakura Tenshin implemented a policy to add Western painting techniques to the classical styles of Japanese painting. During his five years at the art school, while learning various classical styles from the professors, Shunsō acquired Western painting skills such as realism and perspective. As the fruit of such studies, in 1895, he painted “Widow and Orphan” (Tokyo University of the Arts) as his graduation work. Here, he added spatiality and realism to the classical styles of “yamato-e” and the Kanō school, and also expressed his ideal of implying a sense of tragedy in a history painting. Although this painting gave rise to controversy among the professors, Tenshin awarded Shunsō the highest grade. After graduating, Shunsō took part in a project to copy old paintings undertaken by the Imperial Museum and was able to come into contact with old Buddhist paintings in the Kansai region. Once he returned to Tokyo, he participated in the formation of Nihon Kaiga Kyōkai (Japan Painting Association) and also became a teacher at the art school. He presented “Mahākāśyapa Smiling at the Lotus Flower” (1897, Tokyo National Museum) and “Reflection in the Water” (1897, Tokyo University of the Arts) at the Nihon Kaiga Kyōkai exhibitions. The way he added realism to “yamato-e” and Buddhist painting attracted attention. In 1898, the “Tokyo Fine Arts School Dispute” calling for the expulsion of the principal, Okakura Tenshin, arose. Together with fellow professors Hashimoto Gahō, Shimomura Kanzan, Yokoyama Taikan, and others, Shunsō resigned from the art school. Led by Tenshin, these members formed Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute). In those days, Tenshin sought to harmonize the representation of “spirit” and “essence” in Oriental art with the realism in Western art. Continuing to study under Tenshin at the Art Institute, Shunsō undertook this challenge. Feeling that “nihonga (Japanese-style painting)” lacked spatiality, based on Southern Song landscape paintings, he attempted adding spatial perspective and submitted “Autumn Landscape (Autumn Colors by a Mountain Stream)” (1899, Shimane Art Museum) and “Kikujidō (Child with Chrysanthemum)” (1900, Iida City Museum) to the exhibitions held by the Art Institute. Along with hints of subtlety and profundity, he expressed a deep sense of space. However, this style eliminated lines, which were a conventional element in Japanese art. He also tended to make the colors murky and blurred by gradating the image to represent space. In those days, this style was regarded too unconventional, and the critics censured it fiercely by describing it derogatorily as “mōrōtai (hazy style).” Tenshin, too, regarded this trend as problematic and instructed Shunsō to make his pictures clearer. Therefore, Shunsō shifted from spatial representation to realism and studied Chinese paintings such as Chinese academy-style flower-and-bird painting. In “Wang Zhaojun [the Chinese princess]” (1902, Ryūtakusan Zenpōji, Yamagata, Important Cultural Property [hereafter ICP]) and “Deer” (1903, Iida City Museum), he mastered lucid coloring, but was unable to dispel the ill fame of “mōrōtai.” Having studied how to incorporate Western art techniques, Shunsō was eager to travel to Europe from early on. Together with his sworn friend Yokoyama Taikan, he organized private sale events and toured the provinces in hope of raising funds. However, the notoriety of “mōrōtai” prevailed, and being unable to gather money, the prospect of going abroad was poor. Nonetheless, thanks to Tenshin’s support, Shunsō and Taikan were able to go to study in India in 1903 and to the US and Europe from 1904 to 1905. In the US and Europe, they saw works by artists such as James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Joseph Mallord William Turner. Influenced by these experiences, Shunsō began to place emphasis on expressing light. Adding the effect of light to his “mōrōtai” style, he produced “Dawn” (1904, Harimayahonten Co., Ltd., Hyogo) and “Evening Forest” (1904, Iida City Museum). Furthermore, having come across Impressionist paintings while studying abroad, Shunsō reconfirmed the significance of coloring, and upon his return to Japan, he devoted himself to research on coloration. In 1906, Okakura Tenshin transferred Nihon Bijutsuin to Izura, Ibaraki, and Shunsō, together with Shimomura Kanzan, Yokoyama Taikan, and Kimura Buzan, moved there too. There, based on a portrait of a Zen master and making free use of the effects of pointillism and complementary colors, Shunsō created “Bodhisattva Kenshu” (1907, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, ICP). It was submitted to the 1st Bunten (Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibition) as the fruit of his study on coloration, but the reviews were still unfavorable. Around that time, Shunsō suffered from retinitis caused by chronic nephritis. As it was difficult to receive treatment in Izura, he moved to Yoyogi in Tokyo in 1908 and spent six months recuperating. The convalescence proved worthwhile, and despite fear for a time that he might even lose his eyesight, he gradually recovered. In 1909, he submitted “Fallen Leaves” (Eisei Bunko Museum, Tokyo [entrusted to Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art], ICP) to the 3rd Bunten. This work with trees arranged in a tranquil space was awarded the highest second prize, which was, in reality, the top prize, and received good reviews from both the general viewers and the art critics. From around this period, Shunsō deepened his interest in ornamentation and approached the Rinpa style. At the 4th Bunten in 1910, he submitted “Black Cat” (Eisei Bunko Museum, Tokyo [entrusted to Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art], ICP) as a judge. This painting demonstrated a style harmonizing the ornamentation of Japanese art and the realism in Western art, and Shunsō’s fame as an artist grew all the more. The following year, in 1911, he painted “Early Spring” (private collection) with even more ornamentation, suggesting a new development. However, at that point, the chronic nephritis recurred. In due course, he lost his eyesight, which did not recover, and his life came to an end in Yoyogi, Yoyohatamura, Toyotama-gun, Tokyo-fu (the present Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) aged thirty-six years and eleven months. Throughout his lifetime, Shunsō studied a variety of different styles of painting and had a considerable influence on the younger generation of artists. His attitude trying to incorporate Western painting techniques into classical Japanese and Oriental styles was consistent. This was the result of Okakura Tenshin’s guidance, and one might say that Shunsō dedicated his career to promoting modernization of “nihonga” with Tenshin’s ideology as a guiding principle. Shunsō produced many masterpieces and noteworthy works in a tranquil and intellectual style, which reflected his personality. There are currently four works by Shunsō which are designated Important Cultural Properties. This is the largest number among artists dating from the Meiji era onward. (Kojima Atsushi / Translated by Ogawa Kikuko) (Published online: 2024-09-04)