Fujishima Takeji
- Born: 1867
- Died: 1943
- Japanese: 藤島武二 (Fujishima Takeji)
Fujishima Takeji was a Meiji period yôga (Western-style oil paintings) artist. He is known for numerous now-famous works, and for teaching a number of other notable artists of the time.
The son of a Satsuma han retainer, he lost his father and two elder brothers during his childhood. While caring for his elderly mother and helping raise his younger siblings, Fujishima began studying Nihonga (traditional Japanese painting) and yôga, including under Shijô school-style painter Hirayama Tôgaku. He later moved to Tokyo, where he studied under Soyama Sachihiko, Nakamaru Seijûrô, and Matsuoka Hisashi. In 1896, at the encouragement of Kuroda Seiki, he became a painting instructor at the Technical Art School in Tokyo, at the age of 29.
At age 38, Fujishima traveled to France on a scholarship from the Ministry of Education. He remained there for four years, studying painting in both France and Italy. Upon his return, he was named a full professor at the Technical Art School. In 1937, he was granted the first Cultural Medal.
