Kita Genki

Place: Nagasaki

Biography:

Kita Genki was a Japanese painter who lived in Nagasaki at a time when it was virtually the only channel through which foreign influences could enter Japan. He was influenced both by Chinese and Western painting techniques and was known for his portrait skills. Kita Genki is recorded in the Nagasaki Senmin Gen of 1731 as a portraitist, skilled in Chinese and Nanban (or Western) painting techniques. He painted the portrait of the Ōbaku master Jifei Ruyi (Japanese Sokuhi Nyoitsu) and the portrait of Obaku Monk Mokuan. Some of his works can be seen at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.