A posthumous portrait of King Shô Nei (r. 1587-1620), painted by Shô Genko in 1796.
Shô Genko, also known by the Japanese-style name Kobashigawa Chôan, was a painter who served under five successive kings of Ryûkyû. The first painter to ever be elevated to the rank of ueekata,[1] he is best known for his posthumous royal portraits of multiple kings of the kingdom, but is said to have also been a master of, in particular, bird-and-flower painting, and paintings of tigers.
Genko was born in Shuri, and began teaching Chinese-style painting in Kagoshima in 1801.[1]
He was elevated to the rank of ueekata in 1843.[2]
Many of his works were stored at his former home for many years, but most were destroyed in the 1945 battle of Okinawa.
References
- "Shô Genko." Okinawa konpakuto jiten (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). Ryukyu Shimpo. 1 March 2003. Accessed 22 February 2010.