Gion Nankai, originally Gion Yu (祇園南海; 1676,

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

- 26 October 1751, Edo) was a Japanese

confucianist Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...

, author and painter in the nanga style. His other

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

s included Hōrai (蓬莱), Kanraitei (観雷亭), Kikyo (箕踞), Shōun (湘雲), Tekkan Dōjin (鉄冠道人) and Tekkanjin (鉄冠人).

Life and work

He was the eldest son of Gion Jun’an, a doctor who served the

Kishū Domain , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Prov ...

of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

. At the age of thirteen, he began to receive instruction from the Confucianist

Kinoshita Jun'an was a Japanese philosopher and Confucian scholar of the early Edo period, in the Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian tradition of Zhu Xi. Biography Born in Kyoto as the second of five brothers, Kinoshita was a child prodigy, and studied under Mats ...

and became attached to the group of ten disciples that included

Arai Hakuseki was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo period, who advised the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi (君美). Hakuseki (白� ...

and

Muro Kyūsō or Muro Naokiyo () (March 30, 1658 – September 9, 1734), was a Edo neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian scholar and an official of the Tokugawa shogunate during the rule of Tokugawa Yoshimune. Muro was responsible for the reintroduction of orthod ...

. He became distinguished as a writer of poetry and prose and established himself as a teacher of Confucianism in 1713. At the age of twenty-four, he was expelled from his teaching position for misconduct, for reasons now unknown. Ten years later, he was pardoned and returned to a teaching post in

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) Wakayama City Hall is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...

. The following year, he was the head of a mission to Korea, for which he received a credit of 200

Koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

. He was then entrusted with managing one of the newly founded

Han school The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hangaku' ...

s. At this time, he began to study the art of the Yuan and

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

dynasties and incorporate elements from them into his works. He also studied the ''

Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden ''Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden'' (, ), sometimes known as (), is a printed manual of Chinese painting compiled during the early-Qing Dynasty. Many renowned later Chinese painters, like Qi Baishi, began their drawing lessons with the manual. ...

''. As his most notable influences, he claimed

Zhao Mengfu Zhao Mengfu (; courtesy name Zi'ang (子昂); pseudonyms Songxue (松雪, "Pine Snow"), Oubo (鷗波, "Gull Waves"), and Shuijing-gong Dao-ren (水精宮道人, "Master of the Water Spirits Palace"); 1254–1322), was a Chinese calligrapher, pa ...

for

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

and

Tang Yin Tang Yin (; 1470–1524), courtesy name Bohu (), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty period. Even though he was born during the Ming dynasty, many of his paintings, especially those of people, were illustrated with el ...

for painting. He also admired Yi Fujiu. He was one of the pioneers of nanga (literati painting); passing it along to his students, Yanagisawa Kien and

Ike no Taiga was a Japanese painter and calligrapher born in Kyoto during the Edo period. Together with Yosa Buson, he perfected the ''bunjinga'' (or '' nanga'') genre. The majority of his works reflected his passion for classical Chinese culture and painti ...

. He mostly painted birds and flowers, together with a few landscapes, using a minimal variety of colors. Many of his works are in the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage ( :ja:国立文化財機構), is considered the oldest national museum in Japan, ...

. He also wrote a collection of essays on Chinese poetry.

Sources

* Tazawa, Yutaka: "Gion Nankai". In: ''Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art''. Kodansha International, 1981. . * Laurance P. Roberts: "Nankai". In: ''A Dictionary of Japanese Artists''. Weatherhill, 1976. .

External links

{{Authority control 1676 births 1751 deaths Japanese painters Animal painters Landscape painters Artists from Tokyo