In Genryo
A leading court painter of the Ryukyu Kingdom in the 18th century. Also known as Zamami Yosho, he excelled at Chinese-style bird-and-flower painting. His best-known works include "Pheasant in the Snow" and "Divine Cat."
In Genryo was born in Shuri in 1718. In Genryo is his Chinese-style name (karana); his Japanese name was Zamami Yosho. He showed talent for painting from an early age, and around the age of 12 he is said to have been summoned by King Sho Kei and to have studied under the royal court painter Yamaguchi Soki (Go Shiken).
In his thirties he joined a mission traveling from Ryukyu to China, and after returning he painted the ugwe, the portrait of King Sho Kei. In 1759 he became sodo jito (chief steward) of the Zamami magiri, and was called Zamami Peichin. He died in 1767 at the age of 50. He was a painter who took up the brush while serving as an official of the royal government.
He excelled at the Chinese court style of bird-and-flower painting, in which birds and flowers are rendered in fine, vivid detail, and also left landscapes and figure paintings. He is counted, together with Jiryo and others, among the leading painters of Ryukyuan art. Most Ryukyuan paintings were lost in the Battle of Okinawa, but the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum retains works designated as prefectural cultural properties, including "Pheasant in the Snow," "Birds and Flowers," and "Bamboo."
