横山大観

Born in 1868 (Meiji 1) as the eldest son of Sakai Sutehiko, a feudal retainer of the Mito domain. As a child, he was called Hidezō, and later Hidemaro. Following the establishment of a prefectural system in 1871, the Sakai family was no longer entitled to a stipend as a retainer and moved around the prefecture to Daigo and Isohama, where they were engaged in business. In 1875, Sutehiko began working at the Ibaraki Prefectural Office, and Taikan was to attend an elementary school in Mito. In 1878 (Meiji 11), the family moved to Tokyo and decided to live in Gokenchō, Kanda-ku. Sutehiko’s elder brother, Shibue Nobuo, and others ran Jishū Gijuku, a private school where surveying and cartographic techniques were taught, and the family depended on this relative. Taikan attended Yushima Elementary School from that house. After finishing elementary school, Taikan went on to Tokyo Middle School (the present Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School), and, in accordance with his father’s wish, took exams for the Yobimon (Preparatory School) of the University of Tokyo in 1885 (Meiji 18). However, he applied to both the English Course and Class 4, which turned out to be an infringement of the internal rule, and was disqualified from both courses. As a consequence, he was obliged to enter Tokyo English School, a private preparatory school for students wishing to enter the University of Tokyo, in Kanda-Nishikichō, where he later learned that a national art school was to be founded and became more interested in becoming an artist. In 1889 (Meiji 22), Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkō (Tokyo Fine Arts School, the present Tokyo University of the Arts) opened, and Taikan entered as the one of the first students. From then on, he was to study under the principal, Okakura Tenshin. While at this school, he received education emphasizing tradition, and through attending classes to copy old paintings, he strengthened the foundations toward creating “nihonga (Japanese-style painting)” representative of the modern state of Japan. After graduating, via teaching at the preparatory course at Kyoto City Technical School of Art (the present Kyoto City University of Arts), in 1896 (Meiji 29), Taikan was invited to become an assistant professor at the Design Course of Tokyo Fine Arts School. However, in 1898, the so-called Tokyo Fine Arts School Dispute arose, and the Ministry of Education ordered Tenshin to resign as principal of the art school and head of the Art Department at the Imperial Museum. Indignant at this order, together with Hashimoto Gahō, Hishida Shunsō, Shimomura Kanzan, and other teachers at the art school, Taikan prepared a contract announcing a resignation en masse. In the end, it turned out that they were all dismissed in disgrace. In July that year, Taikan and others founded Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute) with Tenshin at the center. There, he was to study under Tenshin, who advocated the predominance of Oriental thought and culture to Europe and America, and work on creating “nihonga.” In October, the [5th] Nihon Kaiga Kyōkai / 1st Nihon Bijutsuin Tenrankai (Joint Exhibition by Japan Painting Association and Japan Art Institute) was held, and Taikan presented “The Legendary Chinese Poet Qu Yuan” (1898, Itsukushima Shrine). This painting seemed to allude to Tenshin’s situation having been expelled from Tokyo Fine Arts School, and became a topic of conversation. From then on, Taikan abandoned sumi ink techniques, which had been emphasized in the traditional schools, and gradated the entire image with a “karabake (brush without paint applied to it)” to incorporate a modern style of expressing emotion with nuanced colors. He also experimented with three-dimensional expressions employing colored lines and shading. He treated the theme of ideality in Oriental thought too. The art circles were astonished at such novel expressions, and Taikan’s efforts were to receive severe criticism by being referred to as “mōrō (hazy)” or “mōrōtai (hazy style),” which were derogatory words in those days. Nevertheless, Taikan pushed on with this experimental attempt and was also enthusiastic about transmitting these expressions as “nihonga” abroad. In 1903 (Meiji 36), backed by an ideology of Pan-Asianism, Taikan and Shunsō traveled to India. “Mōrōtai” spread among the artists in Bengal and became an important guideline for them amidst nationalist agitation. From 1904 to 1905, in the midst of the Russo-Japanese War, while in the US, Taikan and Shunsō held four exhibitions. They also displayed sumi ink paintings and endeavored to promote “nihonga.” In 1905, they went to the UK and stayed in London, where they saw art and held an exhibition. After that, they traveled to Paris, Rome, etc. and returned to Japan the following year. While Tenshin, Taikan, and others were away, the Japan Art Institute fell into economic difficulties. Following this situation, the institute moved to Izura (Ōtsuchō, Kitaibaraki-shi) in November 1906 (Meiji 39). However, their paintings did not sell, and the members were extremely badly off. Taikan and Shunsō, whose “mōrōtai” proved unpopular, suffered particularly. Amidst such circumstances, in 1907 (Meiji 40), the first governmentally organized exhibition, the Bunten (Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibition) was set up. Thanks to Tenshin’s endeavors, Taikan was appointed as a judge and submitted his work from Izura. “Ryūtō (Floating Lantern)”(1909, The Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki), which he submitted to the 3rd Bunten, featured a color scheme calling modern British painting to mind and an innovative composition, which were received favorably. In “Autumn Mountainside” (1911, Eisei Bunko Museum, Tokyo), which was submitted to the 5th Bunten, Taikan rubbed coarse-grained mineral pigments onto the white ground without applying an undercoating. This triggered a vogue for mineral pigments. From around this period, Taikan attained eminence as an authority. In 1908 (Meiji 41), his house in Izura was destroyed in a fire, and he moved to a temporary abode in Kayachō, Shitaya-ku, Tokyo (where the present Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Hall is located). However, being on the “shinpa (new school)”-side at the Bunten, Taikan found himself in fierce conflict with artists of the old school regarding the screening. In August 1914, he was excluded from the jury. 1914 marked the first anniversary of Tenshin’s death, and in September that year, Taikan reorganized Nihon Bijutsuin together with Shimomura Kanzan and others. The “yōga (Western-style painting)” artist Kosugi Misei also joined them, and they worked together in search of a new style of “nihonga” transcending differences in materials and techniques. Thereafter, based at Nihon Bijutsuin, Taikan presented one after another major work. In 1915 (Taisho 4), he traveled along Tōkaidō with some friends on foot and “kago (palanquin)” and produced “Scroll of Fifty-Three Stages of Tōkaido Highway” (1915, Tokyo National Museum). Then, using “Geichūboku,” a fine sumi ink dating from the Ming dynasty, he produced a forty-meter-long picture scroll entitled “Seisei ruten (Metempsychosis)” (1923, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Important Cultural Property). Having commissioned Echizen papermaker Iwano Heizaburō to make the largest Japanese paper in history, Taikan created the wall painting “Meian (Light and Dark)” (1926, Waseda University, Tokyo). Through these eye-catching, innovative attempts, he led the art circles. Furthermore, having received imperial commands, he presented “Chōyō reihō (Sacred Mountains at the Morning Sun” (1927, The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan), “Hisen (Cascading Water)” (1928, The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan), etc. to the Imperial Household. He also dedicated numerous works to shrines including Kashima Jingū, Nikkō Tōshōgū, Meiji Jingū, Minatogawa Shrine, Nagata Shrine, Hikawa Shrine, and Ise Jingū. He also painted many works for educational institutions and public facilities. During the Showa period (1926– ), Taikan also showed peerless power of action in order to promote “nihonga.” He eagerly endeavored to organize exhibitions abroad and contributed to publicizing “nihonga.” Particularly at an exhibition of Japanese art held in Rome in 1930, he served as chairman of the committee and oversaw the entire management. Besides paintings, he strived to make a comprehensive presentation of Japanese culture by, for example, setting up a “tokonoma (alcove)”-like space decorated with a flower arrangement. Thus, while retaining his nongovernmental position at Nihon Bijutsuin, he was appointed as an Artist to the Imperial Household in 1931 (Showa 6), and was awarded the first Order of Culture in 1937. He gained more popularity than the artists active at the “kanten” (government-sponsored art competitions) and became a top influencer of the art world. During World War II, Taikan’s creed of “Saikan hōkoku (Serve the nation with a paintbrush)” became pronounced. In 1940 (Showa 15), he donated all proceeds from the sale of “Ten Sea Scenes” and “Ten Mountain Scenes” presented at an exhibition held in honor of the 2600th year after the accession of Emperor Jinmu to the army and navy. Taikan’s loyalty to the nation was talked about along with the splendor of his soulful paintings, and he was commended as a role model. When Nihon Bijutsu Hōkokukai (Patriotic Association for Japanese Art) was inaugurated, Taikan was recommended and became its chairman. Immediately after World War II came to an end, following a demand from the GHQ to resume art exhibitions, Nihon Bijutsuin held an exhibition of small works. In “A Day in the Pacific Ocean” (1952, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), which Taikan submitted to the 37th Saikō Inten (Reorganized Japan Art Institute Exhibition), he depicted a dragon climbing up from black clouds toward the top of Mount Fuji in hope of the reconstruction of Japan. As Taikan’s house got burnt in an air raid in March 1945, he evacuated to Atami, Shizuoka. However, he built a new house where the former residence used to be in Kayachō, and continued working there. “Kaze shōshō to ekisui samushi (A Forlorn Wind Blows over the Cold Yi River)” (1955, private collection), which visualizes the defying resolution of Jing Ke, an assassin of the late Warring States period in China, became the last work Taikan submitted to the Saikō Inten Exhibition. Taikan died on February 26, 1958 (Showa 33). He was raised to the Senior Third Rank, the First Order of Merit and was decorated with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. (Sato Shino / Translated by Ogawa Kikuko) (Published online: 2024-04-02)