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Tomioka Tessai [Tomioka Yusuke; Tessai; Tetsujin; Yuken]
(b Kyoto, 1837; d Kyoto, 1924). Japanese painter. He is generally considered to be the most brilliant exponent of literati painting (Nanga or Bunjinga; see JAPAN, §VI, 4(iv)(d)) after the Meiji Restoration (1868), and to be responsible for the modernization of the tradition and its integration into the contemporary Japanese painting movement of Nihonga through the introduction of new subject-matter and brush techniques, while also drawing on many other painting traditions such as Yamatoe (‘Japanese-style painting’; see JAPAN, §VI, 3(iii) and 4(ii)); Otsue (‘Otsu pictures’, popular Edo-period folk paintings from Otsu); and the decorative Rinpa school (see JAPAN, §VI, 4(v)). The subject-matter of his paintings included landscapes, figures, animals, birds and flowers and, frequently, religious themes, a reflection of his deep commitment to both Buddhism and Shinto. Tessai is estimated to have produced more than 20,000 paintings and on one occasion executed 70 paintings in a single day. The largest collection of his works is owned by the Buddhist temple Kiyoshi Kojin Seichoji in Hyogo Prefecture, which maintains a public Tessai museum.
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