Murakami Kagaku
A Nihonga painter born in Osaka who was based in Kyoto and Kobe. He joined the founding of the Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai and in his last years painted Buddhist figures and mountains with deep spirituality.
Murakami Kagaku was born in 1888 (Meiji 21) in Tenma, Osaka. His real name was Shin'ichi, and he was later adopted into the Murakami family of Kobe. He went from the Kyoto City Specialist School of Arts and Crafts to the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting, where he studied under Takeuchi Seiho and others. He showed at the Bunten while still a student, and in 1916 (Taisho 5) his "Amida" was chosen for a special prize.
"Evening Scene of Cherry Blossoms Viewing" (1913, Taisho 2; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto) depicts people enjoying cherry-blossom viewing under blooming night cherry trees. In 1918 (Taisho 7), with Tsuchida Bakusen, Ono Chikkyo, and others, he formed the Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai, leaving the Bunten to seek a free place for creation. "Kiyohime at the Hidaka River," which he showed at the association's second exhibition, draws on the story of Anchin and Kiyohime of Dojoji. Within the association he was active as a central figure alongside Bakusen and others.
As he came to suffer from chronic asthma, he moved to Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, in 1923 (Taisho 12) and later kept working shut in his studio in Hanakuma, Kobe. Holding back from exhibitions, he repeatedly painted Buddhist figures and mountains in soft lines and restrained color. He died in Kobe in 1939 (Showa 14). A late work is "Prince Shotoku Meditating under a Tree," which shows Prince Shotoku in meditation beneath a tree.
