Masao Hida, Gekkyo, Shuzan

Place: Izura

Born: 1877

Death: 1945

Biography:

Hida Shuzan was an artist who contributed to the flourishing of Japanese arts in the modern era. His hometown of Izura, Ibaraki Prefecture, became a leading center of Japanese painting after OKAKURA Tenshin visited Izura at Hida’s invitation. Okakura, along with other leading Japanese painters such as YOKOYAMA Taikan , not only established a place of artistic study in Izura, but also relocated the painting division of the Japan Art Institute (Nihon Bijutsuin) to the town. Seeing these artists at work inspired Hida in his own creative pursuits. His paintings, often of landscapes or of historical scenes, combine great detail with rigorous brushwork.