Shimomura Kanzan

  • Born: 1873
  • Died: 1930
  • Japanese: 下村 観山 (Shimomura Kanzan)

Shimomura Kanzan was a Nihonga painter of the Meiji and Taishô periods.

Originally from Wakayama prefecture, Shimomura moved to Tokyo as a child in 1881, where he studied painting under Hashimoto Gahô and Kanô Hôgai. He graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1894 and became a professor there. Four years later, he helped found the Japanese Academy of Arts, alongside Okakura Kakuzô, Yokoyama Taikan, and Hishida Shunsô. Kanzan later returned to the School of Fine Arts, before traveling to England to study there; his overseas studies were funded by the Ministry of Education.

After returning from England, Kanzan moved to Ibaraki prefecture to join Okakura's new studio there. He left Ibaraki in 1912 and took up residence in Yokohama. Okakura died in 1913, and in 1914 Kanzan and Taikan re-established the Japanese Art Academy.

Kanzan died in 1930 at the age of 58.

References

  • Plaque at grave of Shimomura Kanzan, Anryû-ji, Yanaka, Tokyo.[1]