Okada Hankō

Place: Ōsaka

Born: 1782

Death: 1846

Biography:

Okada Hankō (岡田 半江, 1782–1846) was a Japanese painter of the Edo period, who worked in the Nanga (also called literati or Bunjinga) style of painting. He was the son of the noted individualist Nanga painter and rice merchant, Okada Beisanjin. Hankō was part of the third generation of literati painters in Japan, which had better access to Chinese paintings than had earlier painters, so they were no longer dependent on painting handbooks and copies of Chinese originals. Many of Hankō's paintings use sophisticated brushwork in complex compositions, with subtle colors added to the predominant black ink, but he also painted in ink with more vigorous brushwork and was a calligrapher of note. As with most Nanga painters, Hankō was not a true amateur in the Chinese literati tradition: both he and his father were of samurai rank, held positions the local government, and managed the family rice business. Hankō painted on commission, as well as for pleasure.