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

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

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

nihonga ''Nihonga'' () is a Japanese style of painting that typically uses mineral pigments, and occasionally ink, together with other organic pigments on silk or paper. The term was coined during the Meiji period (1868–1912) to differentiate it from ...

style. His younger brother, Inagaki Toshijiro, 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 A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

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 Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

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 c ...

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 (/Kyoto Univ. of Arts). The official abbreviated name is Kyōgei. 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 Universi ...

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

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

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

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

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 Nationa ...

, 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