SEED School MBC #4

Takeuchi Seihō (竹内 栖鳳?, December 20, 1864 - August 23, 1942) was the pseudonym of a Japanese painter of the nihonga genre, active from the Meiji through the early Shōwa period. One of the founders of nihonga, his works spanned half a century and he was regarded as master of the prewar Kyoto circle of painters. His real name was Takeuchi Tsunekichi Seihō was born in Kyoto. As a child, he loved to draw and wanted to become an artist. He was a disciple of Kōno Bairei of the Maruyama-Shijo school of traditional painting. In 1882, two of his works received awards at the Naikoku Kaiga Kyoshinkai (Domestic Painting Competition), one of the first modern painting competitions in Japan, which launched him on his career. During the Exposition Universelle in Paris (1900), he toured Europe, where he studied Western art. After returning to Japan he established a unique style, combining the realist techniques of the traditional Japanese Maruyama–Shijo school with Western forms of realism borrowed from the techniques of Turner and Corot. This subsequently became one of the principal styles of modern Nihonga. His favorite subjects were animals -often in amusing poses, such as a monkey riding on a horse. He was also noted for his landscapes. From the start of the Bunten exhibitions in 1907, Seihō served on the judging committee. In 1909 he became a professor at the Kyoto Municipal College of Painting (the forerunner to the Kyoto City University of Arts). Seihō also established his own private school, the Chikujokai. Many of his students later went on to establish themselves as noted artists, including Tokuoka Shinsen and Uemura Shōen. In 1913, Seihō was appointed as a court painter to the Imperial Household Agency, and in 1919 was nominated to the Imperial Fine Arts Academy (Teikoku Bijutsuin). He was one of the first persons to be awarded the Order of Culture when it was established in 1937. He initially used the characters 棲鳳 for the first name of his pseudonym, and this name was possibly pronounced as Saihō. (Wikipedia)

Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾 北斎?, October 31, 1760 (exact date questionable) – May 10, 1849) was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period.[1] He was influenced by such painters as Sesshu, and other styles of Chinese painting.[2] Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei?, c. 1831) which includes the internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820s. The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Hokusai's most famous print, the first in the series 36 Views of Mount Fuji Hokusai created the "Thirty-Six Views" both as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji.[3] It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fuji in Clear Weather, that secured Hokusai’s fame both in Japan and overseas. As historian Richard Lane concludes, "Indeed, if there is one work that made Hokusai's name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series...".[4] While Hokusai's work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not until this series that he gained broad recognition (Wikipedia)

Ganku 岸駒 (1749 or 1756 - January 19, 1839), or more formally Kishi Ganku, was a noted Japanese painter of the late Edo period and founder of the Kishi school of painting. He is perhaps best known for his paintings of tigers. Ganku was born in Kanazawa as Kishi Saeki, studied painting styles including those of Chinese painter Shen Nanpin (沈南蘋) and the Maruyama school, and arrived in Kyoto around 1780. By the late 18th century, Ganku's paintings were appreciated by patrons that included the imperial family, leading to a position under Prince Arisugawa. His students included his son, Gantai 岸岱 (1782–1865), son-in-law Ganryou 岸良 (1797–1852), adopted son Renzan 連山 (1804–59), Yokoyama Kazan 横山華山 (1784–1837), Shirai Kayou 白井華陽 (fl. ca 1840-60), and Kawamura Bumpou 河村文鳳 (1779–1821). He was made honorary governor of Echizen (Echizen no kami, 越前守) toward the end of his life. Ganku died on January 19, 1839, in Kyoto (Wikipedia)

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) (Japanese: 月岡 芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi 大蘇 芳年) was a Japanese artist.[1] He is widely recognized as the last great master of Ukiyo-e, a type of Japanese woodblock printing. He is additionally regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. His career spanned two eras – the last years of Edo period Japan, and the first years of modern Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Like many Japanese, Yoshitoshi was interested in new things from the rest of the world, but over time he became increasingly concerned with the loss of many aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional woodblock printing. By the end of his career, Yoshitoshi was in an almost single-handed struggle against time and technology. As he worked on in the old manner, Japan was adopting Western mass reproduction methods like photography and lithography. Nonetheless, in a Japan that was turning away from its own past, he almost singlehandedly managed to push the traditional Japanese woodblock print to a new level, before it effectively died with him. His life is perhaps best summed ** by John Stevenson: Yoshitoshi's courage, vision and force of character gave ukiyo-e another generation of life, and illuminated it with one last burst of glory. —John Stevenson, Yoshitoshi's One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, 1992 His reputation has only continued to grow, both in the West, and among younger Japanese, and he is now almost universally recognized as the greatest Japanese artist of his era (Wikipedia)

Unkoku Togan (雲谷 等顔, 1547–1618) was a Japanese painter. He was born into a privileged family in Nagasaki, the second son of Hara Naoie, lord of Nokomi Castle in Hizen province. Starting as an artist of the Kanō school, Togan's work soon took its inspiration from the style of Sesshu. He painted realistic landscapes, usually ink on paper. He worked under Lord Mori of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Later, he became a Buddhist priest and abbot of Unkoku-an Temple. He died in Yamaguchi.

Kaihō Yūshō (海北 友松?, 1533 - 1615) was a Japanese painter of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was born in Ōmi province, the fifth son of Kaihō Tsunachika, who was a vassal of Azai Nagamasa. At an early age he became a page at the Tōfuku-ji (temple) in Kyōto and, later a lay priest. He served there under the abbot and associated with the leading Zen priests of Kyōto. In his forties, Yūshō turned to painting and became a pupil in the Kanō School, either under the famous Kanō Motonobu or his grandson Kanō Eitoku.[1] Then, he worked at Jurakudai, under the patronage of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Emperor Go-Yōzei. At first, he patterned his work after Sung painter Liang K'ai, doing only monochrome ink paintings, using a "reduced brush stroke" (gempitsu), relying more on ink washes than sharp hard strokes. Later, he worked in fashionable rich colors and gold leaf. Artistically on a level with Hasegawa Tōhaku and Kanō Eitoku, he gave his name Kaihō to the style of painting he and his followers practiced.[2] As of the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition of 1975, most of the artist's extant works were ink paintings produced during his late sixties for the Zen temple Kennin-ji in Kyoto. (Wikipedia)

Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重?, 1797 – October 12, 1858) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition.[1] He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重) (an irregular combination of family name and art name)[2] and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige (一幽斎廣重). (Wikipedia)

Legend has it that "every year yōkai led by the yokai Nurarihyon, will take to the streets during summer nights." Anyone who comes across the procession would die, "unless protected." Protection refers to handwritten scrolls by anti-yokai onmyoji spellcasters. Only an onmyoji clanhead is strong enough to pass Nurarihyon's Hyakki Yagyo unharmed.[3] The children's game Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai was based on this idea.