麻豆APP

Portarit of Tomioka Tessai. Photo Sourced from

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Tomioka Tessai

Tomioka Tessai, also known as Tomioka Dosetsu or Tomioka Yusuke was a brush artist and calligrapher from Kyoto, Japan. He was the last major artist in the Bunjinga Tradition. It is unknown what exact year he was born between 1836 and 1837.

Tessai was the son of Tomioka Korenobu, a wealthy robe maker. His hearing deficiency made him pursue his education rather than be a merchant. He studied classical Chinese philosophy and ancient Japanese classics.

After returning to Kyoto in 1882, Tessai championed the traditional Japanese painting against y艒ga, (the influence of western art). He became more popular and became one of the first 5 artists in the nihonga movement.

In 1890, Tessai became a judge of the Young Men鈥檚 Society of Painting. He was appointed the official painter of Emperor Meiji (1907) and the Imperial Household Agency (1917). Tessai passed away on December 31^st, 1924 in Kyoto.

1. His Family鈥檚 Poverty Led Him To Meeting His Greatest Scholarly Mentor

Drawing of the Buddhist nun 艑tagaki Rengetsu. Photo sourced from

After his father鈥檚 death in 1843, Tomioka and his family fell into poverty due to the decline of their fortunes. He served as a page at a shrine where he met Otagaki Rengetsu a decade later. Otagaki was a Buddhist nun who is regarded as one of the greatest poets of the 19^th century.

Otagaki also practiced pottery and calligraphy. She became Tomioka鈥檚 greatest mentor in his art of painting and calligraphy. Some of Tomioka鈥檚 art pieces feature calligraphy from Otagaki.

2. Tomioka Was A Self-Taught Artist

Though his most influential mentor was nun Otagaki Rengetsu, Tessai was taught basic lessons in painting by Ukita Ikkei (a Yamato-e painter) and Osumi Nanko. Unlike most traditional artists, he learned the skill of calligraphy by adopting and studying different old Japanese and Chinese styles of painting by himself.

Tomioka was a scholar of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Japanese Classics. He also studied the doctrines of the Chinese scholar Wang Yang-ming.

3. Tomioka鈥檚 Travel Escapades Contributed As Subjects Of His Paintings

The Summit of Mount Fuji by Tomioka Tessai, Photo By Tomioka Tessai – Wikimedia Commons

During the Meiji period (1868-1912), Tomioka traveled from Nagasaki to Hokkaido and visited famous and scenic places. He made a major contribution to the government through maps and landscape charts. Tessai drew inspiration from the sight of many different sides of the country.

Tomioka would use rich colours to show people in landscapes. In other paintings, he would use religious imagery to showcase Asian religious traditions of Buddhism and Confucian.

4. Tomioka Was The Original Painter Of Over 20,000 Paintings

During his artistic life, Tessai cumulatively created over 20,000 paintings. Tessai鈥檚 early paintings were influenced by the Bunjinga and Kyoto styles but later on grew to Nanga, a Chinese style based on the Ming dynasty. He adopted the 2 traditional styles of literati and professional painting.

His paintings were famous for their bold brushstrokes and grand scale. It is said that Tomioka once completed over 70 paintings in a single day!

5. His Most Notable Paintings Were Created in The Last 8 Years Of His Life

Tomioka Tessai – Mt.Penglai (Mountain of Immortals)  Photo By Tomioka Tessai –

Tessai fled to Nagasaki in 1859 after the end of the Edo period. He became a Shinto priest in Isonokami and Otori shrines. He left the priesthood in 1882 to pursue his life as a painter and became a member of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy and Japan Nanga Society.

Tomioka鈥檚 best paintings were done between 1986 and 1924 when he was 80 to 87 years old. Gunsen Kokai-zu (Hermits Meeting on a Mountain), Mountains of Immortals – Mt. Pelgai (1924), and Abe no Nakamaro meishu bogetsu-zu (The Poet Abe Nakamaro Contemplating the Moon in China) are his major works. 

6. Tomioka鈥檚 Largest Collection Is In a Private Museum Within A Buddhist Temple

Tessai Memorial Museum is a private museum in Takarazuka, Hyogo. The Seiko-den museum houses about 1200 artworks by Tessai from 1836 to 1924.

The rocks placed in the museum鈥檚 front garden are said to be collectibles from scenic places (Kibune, Kurama, Tenryu-Kyo, and Iyo) that are associated with Tomioka. The museum holds exhibitions several times a year to show Tessai鈥檚 masterpieces.

7. His Pieces Were Recognized By Contemporary Artist

Taoist Immortals Celebrating Longevity (1923). Photo By Tomioka Tessai –

Tomioka was a modern Japanese painter. Unlike the contemporary artist, his art style was made as per traditional Japanese techniques and materials. His medium was silk and washi, a type of Japanese paper.

Tessai was one of the few artists that maintained his style of art even after Western influence in the 1860s. His collection of monochrome and brilliant colored art exhumed a sense of free spirit and had no trace of Western perspective. This gave him recognition among contemporary artists.

8. He Was Among The First Main Artist Of 20^th Century Japanese-Style Paintings

Nihonga were Japanese paintings in 1900. The term Nihonga was created between 1868 and 1912 when Imperial Japan was under the rule of Meija. At the time, Japan had stopped being at risk of colonization by the West.

Tomioka, Kono Bairei, Okakura Tenshin, and Shiokawa Bunrin influenced the rebirth of traditional painting Japanese style. These artists and educators were the first to emphasize the importance of Nihonga and the beauty of native Japanese traditional art.

9. Tomioka Developed The Curricula of Art School

Tessai opened a private school in 1861 and became a teacher of Nihonga art. The school that was in Rengetsu鈥檚 house, taught the art of traditional Japanese painting.

7 years later, Tessai became a teacher at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. In 1919, he was appointed a member of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy(Teikoku Bijutsu-in). Today, Ritsumeikan University is one of western Japan鈥檚 four prestigious tertiary institutions

10. The First Major American Pan-East Asian Exhibition Since The 1900sWas Dedicated to His Artwork

Smithsonian鈥檚 National Museum of Asian Art , Freer Gallery of Art. Photo By Dzhoy Zuckerman –

鈥楳eeting Tessai; Modern Japanese Art From Cowles Collection鈥� was an individually scheduled press tour in honour of Tomioka. It was held in Smithsonian鈥檚 National Museum of Asian Art, Washington. The tour featured a collection from Mary and Cheney Cowles.

The exhibition showcased early modern and modern Japanese paintings and calligraphy. It was the first in 5 decades to explore the significance of Pan-East Asian influences in America. The other artist featured in the exhibition was Otagaki Rengetsu.