Gyokushu Kuwayama

Japanese: 桑山玉洲 - くわやま・ぎょくしゅう

Year of death: April 13, 1799 (May 17, 1799)
Year of birth: Enkyo 3 (1746)
A Nanga painter of the mid-Edo period. His name was Tsugumoto, later Tsugusan (Tsugu). He was commonly known as Moheiji, later Sanai. His pen name was Akio. He also went by the names Gyokushu and Kasetsudo. He was from Wakaura, Kishu (Wakayama City). He took over the family business of shipping. During the Meiwa era (1764-1772), he worked in land reclamation and became a landowner. He loved ancient paintings and calligraphy from an early age, and was friends with Noro Kaiseki, who was from the same town. During the Meiwa and An'ei eras, he traveled to Edo to study. At first, he painted bird and flower paintings in the Nanpin style, but during the An'ei era (1772-1781), he became acquainted with Ike Taiga, Taka Fuyou, Hosogo Hansai, and Kimura Kenkado in Kyoto and Osaka, and decided to pursue Nanga painting. His posthumous works include Nanpin-style bird and flower paintings and Nanga landscapes, characterized by soft brushstrokes and strong colors. He wrote Gyokushu Gashu and Eji Hingon, and in the latter he stated, "Konoe-no-Mikoto (Nobutada or Iehiro), Seisei (Shokadō Shōjō), Sotatsu, Korin and others are also said to be part of the Southern School of Japan," thus developing his own unique theory on Japanese Nanga. His emphasis on the importance of true landscape paintings suggests that he was influenced by Taiga. He himself left behind excellent works of true landscape painting, such as "Wakaura Zumaku" (Scroll of Wakaura), "Myōkōura Jūran Satsu" (both in private collections), and "Nachisan - Bridge and Pillars of Rocks Screen" (owned by Nensei-ji Temple, Wakayama).

(Koichi Takeda)

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

Japanese:

没年：寛政11.4.13(1799.5.17)
生年：延享3(1746)
江戸中期の南画家。名は嗣幹,のち嗣燦(嗣粲)。通称茂平次,のち左内。字は明夫。玉洲,珂雪堂などと号した。紀州和歌浦(和歌山市)の人。家業の廻船業を継ぐ。明和年間(1764～72),開墾事業に従事して地主となる。幼年より古書画を好み,同郷の野呂介石と交友。明和～安永のころ,江戸に遊学。はじめは南蘋系統の花鳥画を描いていたが,安永年間(1772～81),京坂で池大雅,高芙蓉,細合半斎,木村蒹葭堂などと交わり,南画を志す。遺作には南蘋系の花鳥画と南画山水とがあり,柔らかい筆線と濃い色彩に特色がある。『玉洲画趣』『絵事鄙言』を著し,後者で「近衛公(信尹あるいは家煕),惺々翁(松花堂昭乗),宗達,光琳ナトハ本朝ノ南宗トモ云ハンカ」と述べるなど,独自の日本南画論を展開。真景図の重要性を主張する点とあわせて,大雅の影響と考えられる。自らも「若浦図巻」「明光浦十覧冊」(いずれも個人蔵),「那智山・橋柱巌図屏風」(和歌山・念誓寺蔵)など,真景図に秀作を残す。

(武田光一)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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