The Five Masters in Kyoto

In the Kyoto painting circle before modern times, the Maruyama and Shijo schools developed. Soon after the start of the Meiji period, the modernization of Japanese painting was promoted, including the establishment of the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting (Kyoto-fu Gagakko), the first public art school of Japan. Painters at that time were taking steps toward the innovation of Japanese painting, for example, by introducing the Western methods of painting based on traditional expression. Among these, Takeuchi Seiho attempted to establish an innovative painting style as a pioneer of modern Japanese painting. He had a large influence on the art world, under which numerous talents grew up in his own art circle Chikujo-kai and the Kyoto City Technical School of Painting (Kyoto City Kaiga Sen-mon Gakko), where he taught.
This exhibition will showcase works by the painters of Kyoto; Seiho, Uemura Shoen, Kikuchi Keigetsu, Hashimoto Kansetsu, and Sakakibara Shiho. We hope that you will appreciate the works of these five masters, who brilliantly added colors to the modern Kyoto painting circle, each with their own unique painting styles.