Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-89) was born in 1831 in Koga in the province of Shimousa (now Koga, Ibaraki prefecture). When he was two-years old in the East Asian age reckoning (kazoe-doshi), his family moved to Edo.* At the age of seven, he began studying painting with the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi. He later studied with Maemura Towa (?-1841) of the Surugadai Kano school and then with Towa’s own teacher, Kano Tohaku Norinobu (?-1851). He took the art name “Kyosai” (“crazy studio”) upon becoming independent as an artist and won renown for his giga (comic pictures) and other works. In 1870, however, at the age of 40, he was imprisoned for creating a caricature, at a gathering of painters and calligraphers. It is said that the caricature insulted exalted, powerful men. He then changed the first character of his art name so that, while still pronounced “Kyosai,” it meant“enlightened studio.”
That incident and his satirical paintings making fun of the Meiji government contributed to Kyosai’s image as a rebellious, defiant spirit. It is not difficult to image that Kyosai, who was 38 when the Meiji Restoration occurred, had mixed feelings about the new government and the rapid pace of modernization it promoted, along with the other residents of the capital. What underlay his criticism and satire was not strong opposition to the new government as such, however. Rather, it was fueled by his affection for Edo culture.
The Kano school declined after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, but Kyosai proudly regarded himself as a Kano-school artist throughout his life. Kyosai’s sophisticated painting techniques and his deep understanding of traditional imagery were supported by Kano-school dedication to constant practice and the study of classic paintings as the foundations for an artist’s work. The paintings of Kannon, which he produced daily late in his life, and his careful copies of his predecessors’ work, speak to Kyosai’s sincerity and passion for art.
This exhibition commemorates the 130th anniversary of Kyosai’s death. It has two major foci: his work as a “Kano-school painter” and his innovative exploration based on the study of classical paintings during the tumultuous closing years of the Tokugawa shogunate and the launch of the new Meiji government.

* In the East Asian age reckoning system, the age count starts at one instead of zero at the moment of birth, and a year is added on each New Year’s Day.