Inagaki Chūsei, originally Kōtarō (Japanese:稲垣仲静; 1897,

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

- 24 June 1922, Kyoto) was a Japanese painter in the

nihonga ''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...

style. His younger brother,

Inagaki Toshijiro Inagaki Toshijiro (稲垣稔二郎) (March 3, 1902 June 10, 1963) was a Japanese katazome artist. His given name is also sometimes read as "Nenjiro". Early life and education Inagaki was born in Kyoto to Takejiro Inagaki, a painter. He was the ...

, was a well-known

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

artist and textile designer who was named a

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

Life and work

He was the eldest son of Inagaki Takejirō (稲垣竹次郎), a nihonga painter who went under the

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 ...

of Chikubu (竹埠) and, later, became a craftsman specializing in

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...

work. In 1912, he enrolled at the Municipal School of Arts and Crafts then, upon graduating in 1917, attended the Municipal School of Painting (both now part of the

Kyoto City University of Arts is a public, municipal university of general art and music in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1880, it is Japan's oldest university of the arts (the predecessor of Tokyo University of the Arts was founded in 1887). Among its faculty and graduates ...

), completing his education in 1920. While there, in 1919, he had his first success when he exhibited his painting of a cat at the National Painting Association (国画創作協会). In 1922, he was selected to participate in the exhibition of the "Kyūmeikai" (九名会, Nine Famous Ones) but he died that summer from an intestinal inflammation. In August, his friends and associates organized a memorial exhibition at the

Kyoto Prefectural Library Kyoto Prefectural Library (京都府立図書館 Kyōto Furitsu Toshokan) is a prefectural library located in Seishoji-cho 9, Okazaki, Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. It was established in 1873, and is supported by the Kyoto prefectural gove ...

. The exhibition featured his flower and bird images ( Kachōga) in the styles of the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

and Yuan dynasties, as well as some rather unconventional portraits of

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...

Sources

* "Inagaki Chūsei" In: ''Kyōto no Nihonga 1910–1930'' (exhibition catalog).

National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto The is an art museum in Kyoto, Japan. This Kyoto museum is also known by the English acronym MoMAK (Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto). History The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MoMAK) was initially created as the Annex Museum of the National ...

, 1986. .

External links

"Brothers brought together by differences"
by Matthew Larking, ''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' 4 June 2010. 1897 births 1922 deaths 20th-century Japanese painters Nihonga painters Artists from Kyoto {{Japan-painter-stub