about shijo school

Kyo-ha Painting consists of the several schools of artists flourishing in Kyoto and Osaka between 1760 and the end of the 1800s. The most important of these was the Shijo School, which arose from a collaboration in the mid-1780s between two artists: the established painter Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795) and the younger Matsumara Goshun (1752-1811). The name Shijo refers to Shijo Street (Fourth Street), the location of Goshun's studio in Kyoto.

Okyo, Maruyama is credited with replacing the formulaic style of traditional painting with one based on direct observation of nature.

Goshun, who studied with the older master poet/painter Yosa Buson (1716-1783), from whom he learned Haiga, the art of combining verse with images, took from Okyo this new spirit of realism.

From these beginnings, the Shijo style evolved through several generations.

THE KISHI and MORI SCHOOLS

Two other family schools in Kyoto intermingled stylistically with Shijo artists: the Kishi and Mori.

The Kishi school was founded by Kishi Ganku (1749/56-1838), a contemporary of Shijo co-founder Goshun.  Kishi Renzan (1805-1859), Ganku's son-in-law, was as adept as any Shijo artist at capturing the essence of an animal's spirit without slipping into sentimentality. His adopted son Kishi Chikudo (1826-1879), of the third generation, was considered one of the last true Shijo landscape painters.

The Mori family artists, Mori Sosen (1747-1821), Mori Tetsuzan (1775-1841,and Mori Ippo (1798-1871) were masters at capturing the essence of an animal's form and spirit.