− | Shô Genko, also known by the [[Okinawan name|Japanese-style name]] Kobashigawa Tomoyasu, was a painter who served under five successive kings of [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Ryûkyû]]. He is best known for his posthumous royal portraits of the kings of the kingdom, but is said to have also been a master of, in particular, [[bird-and-flower painting]], and paintings of tigers. | + | Shô Genko, also known by the [[Okinawan name|Japanese-style name]] Kobashigawa Chôan, was a painter who served under five successive kings of [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Ryûkyû]]. The first painter to ever be elevated to the rank of ''ueekata'',<ref name=junko>Junko Kobayashi, "The Demise of Ryukyuan Painting," Okinawan Art in its Regional Context symposium, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 10 Oct 2019.</ref> he is best known for his posthumous royal portraits of the 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 was elevated to the [[Ryukyuan court ranks|rank]] of ''ueekata'' in [[1843]].<ref>''Okinawa bijutsu zenshû'' vol 6, Okinawa Times (1989), 65.</ref> | + | Genko was born in [[Shuri]], and began teaching Chinese-style painting in [[Kagoshima]] in [[1801]].<ref name=junko/> |
| Many of his works were stored at his former home for many years, but most were destroyed in the 1945 battle of Okinawa. | | Many of his works were stored at his former home for many years, but most were destroyed in the 1945 battle of Okinawa. |