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(1893–1971)
Nihonga painter from Hokkaido. Hōshun graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. He studied with Matsuoka Eikyū and contributed to the Yamato-e revival. Co-founder of the Rokuchōkai art association with Nakamura Gakuryō and Fukuda Heihachirō. After the Second World War, Hōshun became an important figure at the Nitten exhibitions. Over time, his style became less dependent on Yamato-e and would tend towards traditional bird-and-flower painting, to which Hōshun would add elements of Western painting. Member of the Japan Art Academy. Hōshun was designated a Person of Cultural Merit and received the Order of Culture.
Double box, inscribed "Yamaguchi Shun"
40 x 51 / 141 x 66 cm
The hydrangea, also known as ajisai in Japanese, tends to change the color of its blossoms, prompting people to call it the “flower of the seven changes” or, as in the original title of this painting, “flower of the eight immortals.” Yamaguchi Hōshun first enrolled in the department of Western-style painting at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and even had his works accepted to the prestigious Nikakai exhibitions. Upon suggestion of his teacher Nagahara Kōtarō that his works were similar to Yamato-e handscrolls, Hōshun switched to nihonga. After graduation, he joined Matsuoka Eikyū’s Yamato-e revival movement. In 1930, he joined Fukuda Heihachirō, Nakamura Gakuryō, Makino Torao, Kimura Sōhachi, Nakagawa Kigen and others to form the Rokuchō-kai art association. As a result of joining a group with members of such diverse background in art, Hōshun felt inspired to work towards a new type of nihonga, emphasizing color, format, study from nature and from ancient and recent masters. The style he arrived at was a skillful blend of Western and Japanese influences with a touch of subtle intellectualism.