Yoshida family artists
Encyclopedia
The Yoshida family of artists is an important line of Japanese artists that reaches unbroken from the early 19th century to the present.
, on Kyūshū
, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. (A Japanese Legacy, 18ff) Late in the century they moved to Tokyo.
Over the past 150 years the ten leading Yoshida artists, extending through four generations, have used a wide variety of media, styles, and techniques. In this way the family embodies an outline of main developments in modern Japanese art history. Within the family there have been five women artists, in three generations, in effect a case study for the emergence of women in public life and artistic leadership in that country.(Allen et al., 152-3) Finally, the Yoshidas represent an interesting example of the way the Japanese people have often used adoption and arranged marriages to reinforce certain desirable traits associated with a family’s name. (Modern Japanese Prints, 167)(Skibbe, Yoshida Toshi, 34)
Prior to the mid-19th century, the Yoshida artists serving the Nakatsu clan presumably provided work in a traditional Japanese style on silk, paper, or board. But then in the Meiji Period
, when the structures of Japanese society were changing radically, a young artist by the name of Kasaburo Haruno changed his name to Kasaburo Yoshida (1861–1894) when he married Rui Yoshida
and was adopted into her family. (Japanese names here are in the Western order, first the individual name, followed by the family name.) Kasaburo shifted from being a traditional Japanese style artist to becoming a pioneer in early Western style art. Whereas he had been serving the clan, he now became an art teacher in one of the schools established by the clan.(Allen et al., 19-20)
Then, because Kasaburo and Rui at that time had four daughters and no son, they adopted Hiroshi Ueda who became Hiroshi Yoshida
(1876–1950) as he joined the family and married one of the daughters, Fujio Yoshida
(1887–1987). (A Japanese Legacy, 24, 27) He began with watercolors, but soon became a prize-winning Western-style artist in oils, and late in his career led in a thorough renewal in Japanese woodblock art.(Tadao et al., 178-80)
Their first son, Toshi Yoshida (1911–1995), was destined to inherit the Yoshida Studio in Tokyo. He slowly moved beyond the quiet romantic style of his father into a brightly-illuminated modern realism and abstraction of the mid-20th century in oils, in woodblock printing, and later in the illustration of his children’s books. His wife, Kiso Yoshida
(1919–2005), provided a counterpoint with her traditional Japanese works in sand painting (bonseki
) and woodblock prints. At the present time, their son Tsukasa Yoshida (1949- ), now director of the Yoshida Hanga Academy, produces surprising modern woodblock prints that blend symbolism and realism. His wife Kiyoko is a performance artist who plays the Celtic harp.(Skibbe, Yoshida Toshi, 43f, 34f, 83) Their daughter, Aya, is a woodblock and mixed media printmaker with a unique, fresh, poetic style of her own. (www.ideagram.co.uk)
(1924- ), also a nationally and internationally recognized artist, added to the range of modern abstract art in the family.(Allen et al., 178f) That trajectory reached its highest point in the work of their daughter, Ayomi Yoshida
(1958- ), who has created distinctly postmodern works, both in the woodblock medium and in large-room installations.(Allen et al., 196-7) Her husband, Bidou Yamaguchi
, is a Noh
mask carver in the Hosho Noh tradition.
Viewed in the context of Japan’s rich history of art, the Yoshida family is notable for having created such a sustained, and diverse range of fine art that combines the best Japanese aesthetic instincts with a clear modern international appeal. (Andon 1996, 12)
Overview
Just how far back before that their work extended is unclear, but the first artists who appear in recorded history served the Nakatsu clan who lived in Oita PrefectureOita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...
, on Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. (A Japanese Legacy, 18ff) Late in the century they moved to Tokyo.
Over the past 150 years the ten leading Yoshida artists, extending through four generations, have used a wide variety of media, styles, and techniques. In this way the family embodies an outline of main developments in modern Japanese art history. Within the family there have been five women artists, in three generations, in effect a case study for the emergence of women in public life and artistic leadership in that country.(Allen et al., 152-3) Finally, the Yoshidas represent an interesting example of the way the Japanese people have often used adoption and arranged marriages to reinforce certain desirable traits associated with a family’s name. (Modern Japanese Prints, 167)(Skibbe, Yoshida Toshi, 34)
Development
Their artistic trajectory began modestly.Prior to the mid-19th century, the Yoshida artists serving the Nakatsu clan presumably provided work in a traditional Japanese style on silk, paper, or board. But then in the Meiji Period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
, when the structures of Japanese society were changing radically, a young artist by the name of Kasaburo Haruno changed his name to Kasaburo Yoshida (1861–1894) when he married Rui Yoshida
Rui Yoshida
Rui Yoshida was a daughter born to a family of Japanese artists five generations ago. Through those five generations, the Yoshida artists evolved from using a traditional Japanese style to producing modern Western-style art, and finally to post-modernism. Although not an artist herself, Rui was...
and was adopted into her family. (Japanese names here are in the Western order, first the individual name, followed by the family name.) Kasaburo shifted from being a traditional Japanese style artist to becoming a pioneer in early Western style art. Whereas he had been serving the clan, he now became an art teacher in one of the schools established by the clan.(Allen et al., 19-20)
Then, because Kasaburo and Rui at that time had four daughters and no son, they adopted Hiroshi Ueda who became Hiroshi Yoshida
Hiroshi Yoshida
was a 20th century Japanese painter and woodblock print maker. He is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the shin hanga style, and is noted especially for his excellent landscape prints...
(1876–1950) as he joined the family and married one of the daughters, Fujio Yoshida
Fujio Yoshida
was a Japanese artists. She was the first female artist among the Yoshida family artists.She was the daughter of artist Kasaburo Yoshida and his wife Rui Yoshida. She married artist Hiroshi Yoshida. Trained from an early age in the Western-style, she went on to create both naturalistic and...
(1887–1987). (A Japanese Legacy, 24, 27) He began with watercolors, but soon became a prize-winning Western-style artist in oils, and late in his career led in a thorough renewal in Japanese woodblock art.(Tadao et al., 178-80)
The Studio and Toshi
The Yoshida Studio was established in 1925. Hiroshi helped Fujio develop into one of the leading modern women artists of the time. (Yoshida Fujio, Forward)Their first son, Toshi Yoshida (1911–1995), was destined to inherit the Yoshida Studio in Tokyo. He slowly moved beyond the quiet romantic style of his father into a brightly-illuminated modern realism and abstraction of the mid-20th century in oils, in woodblock printing, and later in the illustration of his children’s books. His wife, Kiso Yoshida
Kiso Yoshida
, was the wife of Toshi Yoshida and one of the artists in the important Yoshida family of Japanese artists. Unlike the others in the family, Kiso created only a few woodblock prints, but she excelled in the older, traditional arts of Japan...
(1919–2005), provided a counterpoint with her traditional Japanese works in sand painting (bonseki
Bonseki
Bonseki is the ancient Japanese art of creating miniature landscapes on black lacquer trays using white sand, pebbles, and small rocks. Small delicate tools are used in Bonseki such as feathers, small flax brooms, sifters, spoons and wood wedges. The trays are either oval or rectangular, measuring...
) and woodblock prints. At the present time, their son Tsukasa Yoshida (1949- ), now director of the Yoshida Hanga Academy, produces surprising modern woodblock prints that blend symbolism and realism. His wife Kiyoko is a performance artist who plays the Celtic harp.(Skibbe, Yoshida Toshi, 43f, 34f, 83) Their daughter, Aya, is a woodblock and mixed media printmaker with a unique, fresh, poetic style of her own. (www.ideagram.co.uk)
Hodaka's broader interests
Parallel to this, Hiroshi and Fujio’s second son Hodaka Yoshida (1926–1995) became an artist entirely independent both of his father’s authority and his aesthetic. The first in the family to focus on abstract art, he began by exhibiting his oils, and then moved to woodblock prints.(Allen et al., 110-11) He was a pioneer in Japan in employing new technologies and techniques, like copper-etching, lithograph, and silkscreen, often with photo-transfer methods, and always in combination with woodblocks. In addition, he gained recognition in the areas of avant-garde poetry, photography, sculpture from various materials, and ceramics. Prints, however, remained his main passion.(Allen et al., 114) He was highly regarded in the world of international biennials, received many prizes, and was awarded two distinguished medals for his art by the Emperor.(Allen et al., 112) (A Japanese Legacy, 112) Hodaka’s wife Chizuko YoshidaChizuko Yoshida
is a Japanese artist. She is a modernist, whose work reflects the development of art in Japan following World War II.She is also important as the middle link in the succession of three generations of women artists in the widely recognized Yoshida family. She is the wife of artist Hodaka Yoshida...
(1924- ), also a nationally and internationally recognized artist, added to the range of modern abstract art in the family.(Allen et al., 178f) That trajectory reached its highest point in the work of their daughter, Ayomi Yoshida
Ayomi Yoshida
is the youngest artist in the Japanese Yoshida family of artists. She is best known at the present time for her room-sized installations of woodchips that have been created for galleries and museums in Japan and the United States...
(1958- ), who has created distinctly postmodern works, both in the woodblock medium and in large-room installations.(Allen et al., 196-7) Her husband, Bidou Yamaguchi
Bidou Yamaguchi
, a master Noh mask carver in the Hōshō tradition, was born Yamaguchi Hiroki on February 28, 1970, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, on the island of Kyūshū in Japan....
, is a Noh
Noh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
mask carver in the Hosho Noh tradition.
Viewed in the context of Japan’s rich history of art, the Yoshida family is notable for having created such a sustained, and diverse range of fine art that combines the best Japanese aesthetic instincts with a clear modern international appeal. (Andon 1996, 12)