Kishikoma - Ganku

Japanese: 岸駒 - がんく

Year of death: Tempo 9.12.5 (1839.1.19)
Year of birth: March 15, 6th year of the Horeki era (April 14, 1756)
A painter from the mid- to late Edo period. Kishi is his surname and Koma his given name, but they are usually pronounced "ganku". His pen name was Benzen and his pen names were Kayo and Dokokan. He was born in Kanazawa, Kaga Province (Ishikawa Prefecture). He served at an indigo dyeing shop, working in Kaga dyeing. Because he was poor, he learned how to read by looking at the signs of merchants and taught himself how to paint. In 1780 (An'ei 9), he went to Kyoto and began painting in earnest, self-studying Ming and Qing painting, the Nanpin school, Maruyama school and other styles of painting, and built his own style. His "Basho's Chicken" (Toyama Memorial Museum collection) from 1781 (Tenmei 1) shows the influence of Ming and Qing painting, while "Yangyu and Jade" (Kokuka no. 362) from the same year shows the influence of the Nanpin school. In 1784, he painted the partition paintings for the Arisugawa family home. Around this time, he called himself Gagakusuke. In 1789, he created paintings on the partitions of the Imperial Palace when it was built. In 1809, he was invited by Maeda Narihiro to paint paintings on the partitions of Kanazawa Castle, where he combined the styles of various schools of painting to fuse expressiveness with decorativeness, completing his own unique style. He formed the Kishi school and educated many disciples. Known for his works are his son Kishidai, Kawamura Bunpo, Shirai Kayo, who wrote Gajo Yoraku, and Kishi Chikudo, who was active in the Meiji period. After the death of Maruyama Okyo, he shared the same popularity as Goshun, but it is said that his strong desire for self-exhibition drew criticism from people. He was particularly known for the high fees he charged for his paintings, and when he painted a ceiling painting for a temple, he was praised in a kyoka poem that read, "I don't know if the dragon painting was paid by Kishi or a donation, but 200 ryo is a tall ceiling." He was also adept at promoting himself, and when he first went to Kyoto he took the name Ransai, but there is a theory that Mori Ransai was active in Osaka at the time, and Kishimoto used the same name as a convenient way to make his debut. In 1836 (Tenpo 7), he reached the rank of Echizen no Kami, Junior Fifth Rank. He specialized in tigers, and his representative works include "Ferocious Tiger" (Maeda family collection) and "Tiger and Waves Screen" (Tokyo National Museum collection). In addition, "Spiritual Cat Sliding Door" (Toyama City Local Museum collection) is a representative work from his time as Gagaku no Suke, when his style was at its height. He died at the age of 83, but as he added seven years to his age in his later years, some say he was 90 years old. He was buried at Honganji Temple in Imadegawa, Teramachi, Kyoto. <References> Toyama Art Museum, "Special Exhibition Kishimoto/Picture Catalog"

(Motoaki Kono)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：天保9.12.5(1839.1.19)
生年：宝暦6.3.15(1756.4.14)
江戸中・後期の画家。岸は姓,駒は名であるが,通常「がんく」と音読みにする。字は賁然,号は華陽,同功館。加賀国(石川県)金沢に生まれる。紺屋に奉公し,加賀染の仕事に従事,貧しかったため商家の看板をみて字を覚え,絵も独習したという。安永9(1780)年京都へ上り,本格的な絵画活動を始め,明清画,南蘋派,円山派などの画風を手当たりしだいに独学で学び,自己の画風を築いた。天明1(1781)年の「芭蕉鶏図」(遠山記念館蔵)には明清画の,同年の「楊柳翡翠図」(『国華』362号)には南蘋派の影響がみられる。同4年有栖川宮家の障壁画を描く。このころ雅楽介を称する。寛政1(1789)年御所造営に当たり,障壁画を制作。文化6(1809)年前田斉広の招きで,金沢城の障壁画を描き,諸派の画風を折衷して表出性と装飾性を融合させ,独自の画風を完成させた。岸派を形成して多数の門人を教育した。子の岸岱,河村文鳳,『画乗要略』を著した白井華陽,明治になって活躍した岸竹堂などが知られている。円山応挙亡きあとは呉春と人気を二分したが,自己顕示欲の強さは人々の顰蹙を買ったといわれている。特に画料の高いことは有名で,寺院の天井画を描いた折,「竜の画は岸か寄進かしらねども二百両とは高い天井」と狂歌ではやされた。また巧みに自分を売り込む術にたけ,初めて京に上ったとき,蘭斎と号したが,当時大坂では森蘭斎が活躍しており,岸駒はデビューするための方便として同じ号を名乗ったとする説もある。天保7(1836)年には従五位越前守にまで上った。虎を得意とし,代表作に「猛虎図」(前田家蔵),「虎に波図屏風」(東京国立博物館蔵)がある。また「霊猫図襖」(富山市郷土博物館蔵)は,画風高揚期である雅楽介時代の代表作。83歳で没したが,晩年みずから7歳を加算したため,90歳説もある。京都寺町今出川の本願寺に葬られた。<参考文献>富山美術館『特別展岸駒/図録』

(河野元昭)

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