Rinpa art: The bridge of Edo and Meiji on his artistic soul
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Japanese artist Sakai Dōitsu (1845-1913) belongs to the world of Edo and Meiji despite dying in the early Taisho period. Like many artists who spanned a similar timeline, he witnessed enormous convulsions. However, despite the modernization of the Meiji era, he belongs to the world of rinpa (rimpa) art.
Dōitsu’s father was a Confucian scholar who focused heavily on rinpa art. Hence, the new ideas of the revolutionary Meiji period met a child of the old world.
Dōitsu understood the importance of fighting the rinpa corner during such momentous artistic times. Thus he felt the responsibility to preserve rinpa art for the next generation. Therefore, exhibitions and meetings were essential to preserve such a rich artistic tradition.
His Confucian scholar father, Yamamoto Sōdo, is known to have admired the rinpa art of Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1828) and Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858). Hence, Dōitsu was well versed in such great artists, while in his informative years he studied under Nozaki Shin’ichi (1821-1899).
The legacy of Dōitsu is important because new art forms entering Japan during the Meiji period were challenging the old world. However, he preserved the natural beauty of rinpa art.
PLEASE DONATE TO HELP MODERN TOKYO TIMES
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
DONATIONS to SUPPORT MODERN TOKYO TIMES – please pay PayPal and DONATE to sawakoart@gmail.com
http://moderntokyotimes.com Modern Tokyo Times – International News and Japan News
http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi personal website and Modern Tokyo Times artist
https://moderntokyonews.com Modern Tokyo News – Tokyo News and International News
PLEASE JOIN ON TWITTER
https://twitter.com/MTT_News Modern Tokyo Times
PLEASE JOIN ON FACEBOOK