Shibata Zeshin
Shibata Zeshin was an innovative painter and lacquerware artist of the late Edo period and Meiji period. He painted in lacquer, rather than ink or mineral colors, on paper and silk, and invented a wide variety of techniques and effects for lacquerware, using metals and other materials.
Zeshin was born in Tachibana-machi 2-chôme (east of Nihonbashi), and began practicing lacquerware techniques under Koma Kansai from age 11. In 1822, he then began studying Maruyama-Shijô style painting under Suzuki Nanrei. He moved to Kyoto in 1830, and studied for a time under Okamoto Toyohiko before returning to Tokyo. He made a home at Asakusa 1-chôme, calling his home Tairyûkyo (対柳居).
Zeshin played a role in the founding of the Japan Lacquerware Artists Society (Nihon shikkô kai), the Ryûchikai (Dragon Pond Society), and the Oriental Art Society (Tôyô Kaigakai).
He died on July 13, 1891, and is buried at Shôfuku-ji in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo.
References
- Plaque on-site at Shôfuku-ji.
