Japanese Art by Hishida Shunsō, Sakai Hōitsu, and Tokuoka Shinsen
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Hishida Shunsō (1874–1911) was an artist to treasure during the Meiji Period (1868–1912). Yet, tragically, he died when only 36 years old. Accordingly, one can only wonder at the artistic heights Shunsō might have reached had life been kinder and granted him more time. His brief existence makes his artistic legacy all the more poignant, for within his paintings there was already a remarkable sensitivity toward nature, atmosphere, and the quiet poetry of the Japanese landscape.
The Adachi Museum of Art says, “Hishida Shunso was born in Nagano Prefecture. He studied under Okakura Tenshin and Hashimoto Gaho in the Tokyo Fine Art School. In 1898, he participated in the establishment of the Japan Art Institute. Alongside Yokoyama Taikan, he was devoted to the creation of a new style of Japanese paintings that illustrated keen senses, foresight, and intelligence. He accomplished this through the use of many techniques such as morotai method (vague style of painting).”
The second art piece is by Sakai Hōitsu (1761–1829), one of the most acclaimed artists to grace the Edo Period of Japanese history. His extraordinary command of colour, nature, and graceful design continues to inspire admirers of Japanese art in the early twenty-first century. There is an almost timeless elegance within his work, whereby flowers, trees, water, and light appear to exist in quiet harmony.
The Museum of Art (MOA) says, “Hōitsu was a painter, poet, and researcher of the Rimpa School, but this work is a superb manifestation of Hōitsu’s prestige as a designer. This triad beautifully painted with selected pigments, is one of Hōitsu’s masterpieces, completed when he was 60 years old.”
The flow of the Buddhist faith, much like the graceful movement within his art, also flowed naturally through Hōitsu’s artistic soul. Indeed, during the final decades of his life, his spiritual journey deepened, and he eventually became a Buddhist monk. Thus, art and spirituality became beautifully intertwined within his later years, adding another layer of serenity to his already distinguished legacy.
The final art piece is by Tokuoka Shinsen (1896–1972). Hence, both the Meiji (1868–1912) and Taishō periods (1912–1926) helped shape his artistic soul. He belonged to a generation standing between worlds—one foot within the long traditions of Japanese painting and the other increasingly exposed to Western artistic ideas. This meeting of influences would help define his distinctive artistic path.
The Hiroshima Museum of Art says, “A Japanese-style painter in Kyoto circle, and active as one of the representative pupils of Seiho Takeuchi during and after World War II. After creating the originally realistic style affected by the western-realism, he opened a new style in Japan, driving the simplification and decorativeness rooted in Japanese classicism.”
Thus, these three artists, separated by generations, reveal something beautiful about the continuing evolution of Japanese art. Hōitsu carried the refined spirit of Edo-period Rinpa; Shunsō searched for new artistic expressions during the transforming Meiji era; while Shinsen brought together Western realism and the enduring grace of Japanese classicism. Across their different periods and approaches, nature, beauty, spirituality, and tradition remained quietly present—like an artistic thread connecting one generation to the next.
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