Okumura Togyū, Yoshizō (義三)

Place: Tokyo

Born: 1889

Death: 1990

Biography:

Togyu Okumura was a famous Japanese modern painter of the Nihonga style of watercolour painting. His original name was Yoshizō (義三). The name Togyū referred to a poem from his father who ran a publishing business. Okumura is characterized by his works which achieve unusual, exquisite quality of colours through the application of the white gofun pigment 100 or 200 times as foundation. He painted Mount Fuji, which is in the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Okumura was born in Kyōbashi, Tokyo in 1889 and died in 1990 at the age of 101. He became a director of the Japanese fine arts institute in 1959 and was awarded the Japanese Order of Culture in 1962. He was appointed chief director of the Japanese fine arts institute in 1978.