Shibata Zeshin

Hello from Shukado.

Today we will write about Shibata Zeshin.

Shibata Zeshin was a famous and revolutionary Japanese lacquerer and painter  of the late Edo period and early Meiji era.
As its  extreme modernizm, his works were not understood sufficiently in Japan at that time.
Instead, Zeshin has come to be well regarded and much studied among the art world of the West, in England and the United States in particular.
So in the West there were a lot of collectors of Zeshin for example  Catherine and Thomas Edison Collection .

Zeshin was born and raised in Edo. His father Ichigoro were shrine carpenters (miyadaiku) and skilled wood carvers.
When he was eleven, he begin to learn lacquer from Koma Kansai.
And at age 13, he started to study the painting of Shijo school to
get skill of drawing.

Zeshin provided works to the royal family of Japan for many years, and in 1890 he was named “Imperial Household Artist.”

This is hanging scroll of Zeshin.

                                       "Gavel and Fishig Rod"  Shibata Zeshin

                                                                            (part)

If you are interested in Zeshin, we reccomend to go to Nezu museum in Tokyo.
Now the exhibition of Shibata Zeshin is run there.

Nezu museum is  famous for its excellent art collections including a lot of national treasures.

And you can enjoy autumn color of leaves at its garden.