Higashiyama Kaii and a journey through landscape: From Japan to the World
In Japan, Higashiyama Kaii is a household name. Everyone has heard of his most famous paintings. Traveling all over Japan, he distinctively captured views woven by nature. He specialized in landscapes and learned by painting in foreign lands. After studying in Germany, Kaii painted scenes in Europe, China, and other parts of the world.
Section 1. Landscape Painting in Japan and Overseas
During the Meiji period, while Japan became more open to outside influence, Japanese art and culture also became more widely known. At the turn of the century, more and more Japanese artists were travelling overseas. Intending to study Western painting, many went to Europe. They were particularly interested in landscape painting, which was very different from traditional Japanese depictions of the outdoors. They strove to depict nature more realistically and to capture the vibrant colors of natural light. When they returned to Japan, they worked to incorporate this new way of seeing into Japanese painting and explored different palettes and techniques suited to the Japanese climate.
Section 1 shows works by Yokoyama Taikan and Hishida Shunsō. These Tokyo-based artists painted in the radically new mōrōtai ‘fuzzy’ style. They spurned outlines and used only shades of color and brush stokes to emphasize air and light. You can compare these ‘fuzzy’ paintings with works by Kyoto artists Takeuchi Seihō and Yamamoto Shunkyo, who also painted overseas landscapes, but used traditional Japanese techniques. Paintings by Camille Corot and Claude Monet, who were admired by this generation of artists, are also on show, as well as Chinese-style landscapes by 18th-century Kyoto artists Yosa Buson and Ikeno Taiga.
Section 2. Higashiyama Kaii and Scenes Painted on his Travels
In 1908, Higashiyama Kaii was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. When he was 18, he entered the Tokyo Fine Arts School. After post-graduate studies, he left to study German art history at the University of Berlin when he was 25. Sketching during his travels, he also went around Europe. Soon after he returned to resettle in Japan, the war situation intensified. In 1944, his new home burned down. The following year, Kaii was conscripted for anti-tank training. He experienced military discipline and other horrors of war, including frequent air raids. After the war, his mother and then his younger brother died. Though deep in grief, through painting landscapes, he felt a deep connection with nature. Eventually, he regained his composure. His painting, Afterglow, was selected for the 3rd Nitten (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition) and was acquired by the state. After this, he created several notable series of works, including Four Seasons of Kyoto and Landscapes with a White Horse. He continued to paint until he was 90 years old. In a decade-long project, he was commissioned to paint murals for Miei-dō Hall in Tōshōdai-ji Temple in Nara Prefecture.
In this second section, as well as some of his Japanese landscapes, you can see scenes that Kaii captured while travelling in Europe. Feast your eyes on pellucid and magical paintings such as Morning Calm, which depicts Misuma Pond in Nagano Shiga Kōgen, and Green Garden, a scene from the Mirabell Palace gardens in Salzburg.
Section 3. Higashiyama Kaii and Colorists of his Generation
Kaii achieved overall vibrant color intensity in his paintings by repeatedly applying many thin layers of pigment. The fascinating deep blue tone that he often favored has even been called ‘Higashiyama Blue’.
Other postwar Japanese painters also sought to achieve a visual presence to rival Western painting. Rather than restricting themselves to natural pigments made by grinding minerals, including semiprecious stones, which provided a limited number of traditional hues, they actively extended their range of expression with a wider palette that included colorful synthetic mineral pigments.
In Section 3, you can compare the color usage of Kaii and four contemporaries: Ono Chikkyō, Nakamura Gakuryō, Okuda Gensō, and Kayama Matazō. We selected paintings to show the distinctive colorations explored by each painter and how their landscapes express a different spirit.
We hope you will enjoy a rewarding journey through the spirit of place as expressed in Fukuda Collection landscape paintings.
Exhibition Overview
| Title | Higashiyama Kaii and a journey through landscape: From Japan to the World |
|---|---|
| Dates |
February 1 (Sat.) 2025 – April 13 (Sun.) 2025 1st period: February 1 (Sat.) – March 3 (Mon.) 2025 |
| Opening Hours | 10:00〜17:00 (last entry 16:30) |
| Closed |
February 18 (Tue.) for facility inspection |
| Venue |
Fukuda Art Museum : 3-16 Susukinobabachō Saga-Tenryuji, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto |
| Entry Fee |
General / University student: ¥1,500 (¥1,400) * Prices in parentheses are for groups of 20 or more. <Combo Tickets with Saga Arashiyama Museum of Arts & Culture> *If you purchase an online ticket of the Fukuda Art Museum, you will get a discount for the entry fee of the Saga Arashiyama Museum of Arts & Culture. Therefore, you can enter both museums as the same price of the combo ticket. |
| Supported by |
Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, Kyoto City Board of Education |