was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

painter of the

Rinpa school is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. It was created in 17th century Kyoto by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) and Tawaraya Sōtatsu (d. c.1643). Roughly fifty years later, the style was consolidated by brothers Ogata Kōrin ...

. A student of the famous painter Sakai Hoitsu (1761–1828), he was for a long time considered a minor member of

of Japanese painting. In recent years his work has been reevaluated and gained recognition, leading to a series of major exhibitions of his art in 2016-2017 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Hyogo and

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, 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, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

. Kiitsu is best known for his ''

byōbu are Japanese folding screens made from several joined panels, bearing decorative painting and calligraphy, used to separate interiors and enclose private spaces, among other uses. History are thought to have originated in Han dynasty C ...

'' folding screens, often a reinterpretation of screens by other Rinpa artists, such as his massive ''Wind God and Thunder God'' following

Tawaraya Sōtatsu was a Japanese furniture designer and painter of the Rinpa school. Sōtatsu is best known for his decorations of calligraphic works by his partner Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637), and his spectacular and highly influential ''byōbu'' folding s ...

(c. 1570 – c. 1640),

Ogata Kōrin Ogata Kōrin ( ja, 尾形光琳; 1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese landscape illustrator, lacquerer, painter, and textile designer of the Rinpa School. Kōrin is best known for his ''byōbu'' folding screens, such as '' Irises'' and ' ...

(1658–1716) and Hoitsu. But he has been most acclaimed for his original screens, including his famed ''Morning Glories'' and ''Mountain Stream in Summer and Autumn''. He was also a notable master with many pupils. Although he was not the official successor of Hoitsu's school, he trained himself many of the Edo Rinpa artists. This has sometimes been labeled as the ''Kiitsu school'' of Edo Rinpa.

Works

Mountain Stream in Summer and Autumn is a pair of six-panel ''

'' folding screens made by Kiitsu using ink and color on gold-foiled paper. It depicts "a scene of mountain streams flowing through cypress groves highlighted by lilies and a cherry tree with a few red autumn leaves" but the effect of the screens has been described as "somehow strangely unreal" and " avinga feeling of almost hyperrealism". Another features noted in relation with Kōrin's '' Irises'' screens include "the rhythmical feel of the motifs and the brilliance of the blues and greens against the gold ground". The work shows influence of Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Ogata Kōrin and Sakai Hōitsu and has been described as "one of the great masterpieces of Rinpa painting". Mountain Stream in Summer and Autumn (left screen).jpg, Mountain Stream in Summer and Autumn (right screen).jpg, Each screen measures 165.8 by 363.2 centimeters (65.3 in × 143.0 in). They belong to the

Nezu Museum Nezu may refer to: * Nezu Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Japan * Nezu Station, a railway station in Tokyo * Nezu (''My Hero Academia''), a character in the manga series ''My Hero Academia'' * Nezu, a character in the manga series ''Akira'' Peo ...

, where they are exhibited occasionally (last time, from April 12 to May 14, 2017). is a pair of four sliding doors made using color on silk. It depicts

Raijin , also known as , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, beatin ...

, the god of lightning, thunder and storms in the

Shinto religion Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

and in Japanese mythology, and

Fūjin or is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods. He is portrayed as a terrifying wizardly demon, resembling a red-headed green-skinned humanoid wearing a leopard skin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders. In Ja ...

, the god of wind. The work follows a Rinpa tradition of copying and reworking Sōtatsu's original ''Wind God and Thunder God'' screen. In addition to Kiitsu, both Kōrin and Hōitsu made notable versions of the work (see Kōrin's version). All previous interpretations of the work use the format of two two-folded screens, making Kiitsu's use of eight sliding doors stand out. Wind God and Thunder God (left screen).jpg, Wind God and Thunder God (right screen).jpg, The doors measure 168.0 by 115.5 centimeters (66.1 in × 45.5 in) each, and belong to the

Tokyo Fuji Art Museum was established by Daisaku Ikeda and opened near the Sōka University campus in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan, in 1983. The new wing was added in 2008. The collection of some thirty thousand works spans the arts and cultures of Japan, Asia, and Europ ...

. It was last exhibited from January 3 to February 19, 2017 at the

Hosomi Museum opened near in Kyoto, Japan, in 1998. The collection, begun by Osaka industrialist , numbers some one thousand pieces including thirty Important Cultural Properties, ranging from haniwa and tea utensils to paintings of the Heian and Kamakura ...

. is a pair of two sliding doors made using color on silk. The work represents a scene of nature with bush clovers and an abstracted moon. Similar in style and color to the ''Wind God and Thunder God'' doors, it also belongs to the Rinpa tradition of folding screens with images of nature. In particular, it resembles Hōitsu's ''Autumn Flowers and Moon'' screens. The doors measure 168.8 by 68.5 centimeters (66.4 in × 27.0 in) each, and belong to the

. It was last exhibited from July 28 to August 26, 2017 at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in

Kanazawa is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape ...

. It is also notable his contribution to Sakai Hoitsu's influential compendium of Rinpa art ''One Hundred Paintings by Korin (Korin hyakuzu)''. file:朝顔図屏風-Morning Glories MET DT1587.jpg file:朝顔図屏風-Morning Glories MET DT1588.jpg

Exhibitions

* ''Suzuki Kiitsu: Standard-bearer of the Edo Rimpa School'' (2016, September 10 – October 30) Suntory Museum of Art,

* ''Suzuki Kiitsu: Standard-bearer of the Edo Rimpa School'' (2016, November 12 – December 25)

Himeji City Museum of Art 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

* ''Suzuki Kiitsu: Standard-bearer of the Edo Rimpa School'' (2017, January 3 – February 19)

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control 1796 births 1858 deaths 19th-century Japanese artists 19th-century painters 19th-century Japanese painters Artists from Tokyo 18th-century Japanese people 19th-century Japanese people Rinpa school