Asai Chū
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
painter, noted for his pioneering work in developing the yōga
(Western-style) art movement in late 19th century and early twentieth-century Japanese painting
.
class household in Sakura
, in the Kantō region
of Japan, where his father had been a retainer of the Sakura Domain
. He attended the domain school, where his father was principal, and left home in 1873 to pursue English language
studies in Tokyo
. However, he became interested in the arts, and enrolled as a pupil of Kunisawa Shinkuro in western oil painting
classes. In 1876, he enrolled as one of the first students in the Kobubijutsu Gakkō (the Technical Fine Arts School), where he was able to study under the Italian foreign advisor
Antonio Fontanesi, who had been hired by the Meiji government in the late 1870s to introduce western oil painting
to Japan.
In 1889, he established the Meiji Bijutsukai (Meiji Art Society), the first group of Western-style painters in Japan, and in 1898, he became a professor of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (present day Tokyo University of the Arts. However, in 1902 he resigned his post and travelled to France
, where he spent the next two years refining his techniques in the impressionist
school.
On his return to Japan, Asai obtained a position as professor at the Kyoto Kōtō Kōgei Gakkō (present day Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts of the Kyoto Institute of Technology
), and founded the Kansai Bijutsu-in (the Kansai Arts Institute).
Asai taught numerous students who later became famous in the Japanese art world, including Sōtarō Yasui and Ryuzaburo Umehara. He also tutored the noted poet Masaoka Shiki
in the techniques of western art, and was the model for a character in Natsume Sōseki
’s novel Sanshirō.
A number of Asai’s works have been recognized by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs
as Important Cultural Properties
.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
painter, noted for his pioneering work in developing the yōga
Yoga (art)
or literally "Western-style paintings" is a term used to describe paintings by Japanese artists that have been made in accordance with Western traditional conventions, techniques and materials...
(Western-style) art movement in late 19th century and early twentieth-century Japanese painting
Japanese painting
is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of...
.
Biography
Asai was born to an ex-samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
class household in Sakura
Sakura, Chiba
is a city located in northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 172,176 and a population density of 1660 persons per km². The total area was 103.59 km².-Geography:...
, in the Kantō region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
of Japan, where his father had been a retainer of the Sakura Domain
Sakura Domain
was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Shimōsa Province , Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now part of the city of Sakura...
. He attended the domain school, where his father was principal, and left home in 1873 to pursue English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
studies in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. However, he became interested in the arts, and enrolled as a pupil of Kunisawa Shinkuro in western oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
classes. In 1876, he enrolled as one of the first students in the Kobubijutsu Gakkō (the Technical Fine Arts School), where he was able to study under the Italian foreign advisor
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
Antonio Fontanesi, who had been hired by the Meiji government in the late 1870s to introduce western oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
to Japan.
In 1889, he established the Meiji Bijutsukai (Meiji Art Society), the first group of Western-style painters in Japan, and in 1898, he became a professor of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (present day Tokyo University of the Arts. However, in 1902 he resigned his post and travelled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he spent the next two years refining his techniques in the impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
school.
On his return to Japan, Asai obtained a position as professor at the Kyoto Kōtō Kōgei Gakkō (present day Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts of the Kyoto Institute of Technology
Kyoto Institute of Technology
Kyoto Institute of Technology in Kyoto, Japan is a Japanese national university established in 1949. History of the Institute extends back to two schools, Kyoto Craft High School and Kyoto Sericulture Training School Kyoto Institute of Technology (京都工芸繊維大学, Kyōto Kōgei Sen'i Daigaku) in Kyoto,...
), and founded the Kansai Bijutsu-in (the Kansai Arts Institute).
Asai taught numerous students who later became famous in the Japanese art world, including Sōtarō Yasui and Ryuzaburo Umehara. He also tutored the noted poet Masaoka Shiki
Masaoka Shiki
, pen-name of Masaoka Noboru , was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry...
in the techniques of western art, and was the model for a character in Natsume Sōseki
Natsume Soseki
, born ', is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji period . He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and fairy tales...
’s novel Sanshirō.
A number of Asai’s works have been recognized by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs
Agency for Cultural Affairs
The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education . It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. As of April 2007, it is led by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Tamotsu Aoki....
as Important Cultural Properties
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....
.