Kawai Yoshisaburō

Place: Ichinomiya City

Born: 1873

Death: 1957

Biography:

Kawai Yoshisaburō, also known as Kawai Gyokudō, was a prominent Japanese painter in the nihonga school, active from Meiji through Shōwa period Japan. Born on November 24, 1873, in what is now Ichinomiya city, Aichi Prefecture, he was the eldest son of a paper, ink, and brush merchant.

Early Life and Training

Kawai Gyokudō graduated from Gifu Jinji Kogakko Elementary School in the spring of 1887 and entered the school of Mochizuki Gyokusen in Kyoto, where he was given the name "Gyokusyu". He went on to study under Kōno Bairei of the Maruyama-Shijo school of painting. In 1890, when he exhibited his work at the Industrial Exposition, he changed his name to "Gyokudo" after Gyokusen's name Tama and his grandfather's name Chikudo.

Career and Style

Kawai Gyokudō is noted for his polychrome and occasionally monochrome works depicting the mountains and rivers of Japan in the four seasons, with humans and animals shown as part of the natural landscape. Among his representative works are Futsuka zuki (“The New Moon”), Yuku haru (“The Departing Spring”), Mine-no-yu (“Evening at the Mountain Top”), and Bosetsu (“Snow in the Evening”). His style was highly personal, especially in the field of landscape painting.

Awards and Recognition

Kawai Gyokudō received numerous awards and recognition for his work. In 1931, he received the region of Honor from the French government, and in June of the same year, he received the Grand Officer Coulonne from the Emperor of Italy. He was also awarded the First Class Honorary Medal of the Red Cross by the German government in October 1933.

• Received the Order of Culture by the Government of Japan in 1940
• Awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class, in November 1935
• Appointed a member of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in June 1935

Kawai Gyokudō's works are preserved and displayed at the Gyokudo Art Museum, in Ōme, Tokyo. For more information on Kawai Gyokudō and his works, visit Kawai Gyokudō or check out his page on Mochizuki Gyokusen. Some of his notable paintings can be found at the Tokyo National Museum, including Ducks and A Night Heron in Summer Rain.