Mochizuki school
The Mochizuki school of Japanese painting was founded in Kyoto in the early 1700s by Mochizuki Gyokusen I, a samurai-born painter who trained first under the Tosa school master Tosa Mitsunari and then under the Kanō teacher Yamaguchi Sekkei. Beginning with gold and silver lacquer decoration on seal cases, he developed his own style of landscapes, flowers and birds, and portraits. Successive generations absorbed Kyoto's shifting currents: the third Gyokusen studied with Kishi Ganku, Matsumura Goshun, and Tani Bunchō and fell under Shijō influence, while the fourth merged Maruyama-Shijō technique with nihonga's Western-style realism, co-founded the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting with Kōno Bairei, and trained Kawai Gyokudō. The line is best known for kachō-e, bird-and-flower painting, and continues into the present day.
Defining characteristics
- Kachō-e (bird-and-flower) subjects rendered with naturalistic detail
- Blending of Tosa-school decorative lineage, Kanō-school ink training, and Shijō naturalism
- Range from monochrome sumi ink painting to richly colored painting
- Western-influenced realism absorbed through nihonga in the Meiji era
- Handscroll narratives of classical themes such as the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons
Key figures
- Mochizuki Gyokusen I (1692-1755) — Founder of the school; landscapist, portraitist, and flower-and-bird painter
- Mochizuki Gyokusen III (1794-1852) — Studied under Kishi Ganku, Matsumura Goshun, and Tani Bunchō; brought Shijō influence into the school
- Mochizuki Gyokusen IV (1834-1913) — Co-founded the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting; Imperial Household Artist (1904); known for kachō-e
- Mochizuki Gyokusei (1900-1951) — Sixth-generation head; professor, Nishiyama Suishō pupil, Teiten exhibitor
Example works
- Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (Hyakki Yagyō) — Mochizuki Gyokusen I
- Garden pavilion decorations at Heian Shrine — Mochizuki Gyokkei
Sources
- Mochizuki school - Wikipedia encyclopedia