Hara Yoyusai

Japanese: 原羊遊斎 - はら・ようゆうさい

Year of death: 25 December 1846 (22 January 1846)
Year of birth: 1769
A maki-e artist from the late Edo period. He lived in Kanda, Edo, and was commonly known as Kume Jiro and Sarayama. Although his detailed achievements are not known, according to articles such as "Maki-e-shi-den," Yoyusai was more of a studio owner than an individual maki-e artist, and was always frequenting the influential families of the time, and had many disciples, including Nakayama Komin, who worked on the production of maki-e works. His interactions with leading cultural figures of the time, such as Sakai Hoitsu, Takami Senseki, Tani Buncho, Ota Shozanjin, and Ichikawa Danjuro VII, also speak to his extroverted nature. Yoyusai's style, or that of his school, is one in which highly decorative designs in the Rinpa style are depicted using traditional maki-e techniques based on thin, high maki-e, and his intricate and gorgeous expressions make him a particularly eye-catching presence among the diverse maki-e works of the late Edo period. Furthermore, today, there are many works in circulation that are said to be by Yoyusai, including some that are said to have been sketched by Sakai Hoitsu, and all of them are inscribed with inscriptions such as "Sheep," "Yoyusai," or "Made by Yoyusai." It is difficult to determine the authenticity of these works, but the "One-wheeled cart maki-e large natsume" (owned by Seikado Bunko), which has an inscription on the box that reads "Age at death 61/Yoyusai," and the "Vine plum imitation white-eyed maki-e scroll tray" (owned by Edo-Tokyo Museum), which is estimated to have been made in 1821 based on a note on the cover, can be considered to be basic works. <References> "Kogei Kagami"

(Komatsu Hirohide)

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

Japanese:

没年：弘化2.12.25(1846.1.22)
生年：明和6(1769)
江戸後期の蒔絵師。江戸神田に住み,通称は久米次郎,更山と号する。その詳しい事績は伝わっていないが,『蒔絵師伝』の記事などによれば,羊遊斎の立場は一個の蒔絵師というよりも工房の主催者に近いものであったらしく,常に権門勢家に出入りし,中山胡民をはじめとする多くの門人を擁して蒔絵作品の制作に当たったという。酒井抱一,鷹見泉石,谷文晁,大田蜀山人,7代目市川団十郎など,当時一流の文化人との交流も,その外向的な性格を物語るものといえよう。羊遊斎,あるいはその一派の作風は,琳派風の装飾性豊かな意匠を,薄肉高蒔絵を基調にした伝統的な蒔絵技法で描き出したもので,その精細かつ華やかな表現は,江戸後期の多彩な蒔絵のなかでも際だって目をひく存在となっている。なお,今日,羊遊斎作と称する作品は,酒井抱一が下絵を描いたとされるものも含めて数多く巷間に伝わっており,いずれも「羊」「羊遊斎」「羊遊斎作」などの銘が記されている。それらの真偽の程は決し難いが,「行年六十一歳/羊遊斎」の箱書を持つ「片輪車蒔絵大棗」(静嘉堂文庫蔵),覆紙の注記から文政4(1821)年の制作と推定される「蔓梅擬目白蒔絵軸盆」(江戸東京博物館蔵)などを一応の基準作とみることができよう。<参考文献>『工芸鏡』

(小松大秀)

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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