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 Goyoh Ohtake's bijinga (pictures of beautiful women) subtly express the mood of the setting that gently surrounds each individual subject. Have you ever wondered how these paintings are created?
The first thing to know about Japanese paintings is that they are made using a pigment made from crushed rock dissolved in a glue known as nikawa, which is then used as paint. The nikawa is made from animal-based products such as collagen, gelatine, etc., and it acts as a bond to hold the paint onto the paper or silk. That is why another name for Japanese paintings is nikawa-e, glue pictures.
Here is a simple explanation of the steps Goyoh Ohtake takes to create one of his Japanese paintings. First of all, using a portable brush and ink case known as a yatate, he makes a sketch. (For further information regarding the yatate, see the page “Yatate and sketch”) Next, using the sketch as a base, he creates a rough version, showing the general outline of the contours. After that, using some carbon paper which he made himself, he transfers the image on to a panel covered with washi (Japanese paper). The handmade carbon paper softens the lines of the image.
When these steps have been completed, he paints the contours in ink and then he starts to apply the under-layers. This is a very important step as this process will affect the light and shade and the subtle hues of the entire picture. For the under-layer process, Goyoh Ohtake uses a unique, secret ingredient. When the under-layer stage is finished, he applies layer after layer of paint. For some pictures, he reapplies the paint up to 100 times or more. Applying the paint and allowing it to dry time and again is a task that requires a great deal of patience.
This gives you an idea of the process involved in the creation of one of Goyoh Ohtake’s works of art — from sketch to finished product takes around two or three months. In the end, he has created a fine piece like those displayed on this website.
Goyoh Ohtake’s bijinga are steeped in the artistic traditions of the school of art known as Genyadana. This school, which has been following the traditions of the ukiyo-e style continuously for 150 years, was named after the place where the ukiyo-e master, Kuniyoshi Utagawa lived during the latter part of the Edo period (1603-1867), said to be what is now called Nihonbashi Ningyocho. What is unique about the Genyadana school is that, while it requires the many difficult processes described, it has the capacity for great subtlety and elegance of expression. For reference, the “genealogy” of the Genyadana school from Kuniyoshi Utagawa to Goyoh Ohtake is detailed below. We hope you will appreciate how Goyoh’s paintings, while expressing their own exquisite beauty, are also making full use of and building upon time-honored traditional methods.
Emiko Tatsuoka
Art Concierge SORA
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Ancestor of the Utagawa and Hiroshige schools
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Following in the footsteps of the first Toyokuni, his adopted son, Toyoshige, inherited the father’s name, becoming the second Toyokuni. Later, Kunisada Utagawa, who was highly influential in the Utagawa school, called himself the second Toyokuni. Historically speaking, however, he is considered the third person to inherit the Toyokuni name. Following that, Kunisada’s adopted son Seitar? then took the name Toyokuni, but this was a time of great upheaval which saw the end of the Toyokuni name.
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1797 – 1861. At first, Kuniyoshi was overshadowed by Kunisada’s popularity, but later he blossomed with his musha-e (pictures of warriors). With his politically critical caricatures and bold compositions, he demonstrated his full genius. It was Kuniyoshi’s pictures of warriors that led to the fashion for tattoos covering the whole body.
Kuniyoshi resided in the Genyadana area (now Ningyocho) of Nihonbashi, and as a result, Kuniyoshi’s followers became known as the Genyadana school. His group were well known for nishiki-e (multi-colored woodblock prints) depicting the port of Yokohama which had just been opened to the outside world after a long period of national isolation.
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1839 – 1892. Yoshitoshi Tsukioka was a pupil of Kuniyoshi Utagawa’s. Influential from the closing years of the Edo period (1603-1867) into the start of the Meiji period (1868-1912), he is often called the last great ukiyo-e master. He is known for his graphic style and in particular his sadistic images.
In 1872, he was afflicted with a mental illness, but the following year he made a comeback under the name Taiso. Among other things, he drew illustrations for the Yomiuri Newspaper.
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1866 – 1908. He was a pupil under Yoshitoshi Tsukioka and drew illustrations for the Yamato Newspaper. Since Toshikata Mizuno, the school has moved away from the striking styles of Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi, and toward a more orthodox style of Japanese art.
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1878 – 1972. Kiyokata Kaburaki, whose father was the founder of Yamato Newspaper, was a pupil of Toshikata Mizuno’s. He painted vividly colored genre paintings (depicting everyday life and customs) showing the culture of Edo (present-day Tokyo). Working during the same period as Shoen Uemura in Kyoto and other associates, he helped to develop the genre known as bijinga (pictures of beautiful women) out of classical art. Also a talented writer, he lived in the Yukinoshita area of Kamakura.
Incidentally, the scene “Genjidana” in the play “Kirare Yozaburo,” which also inspired the hit song “Otomi-san” by the folk singer Hachiro Kasuga, was a parody of Genyadana in Nihonbashi, transposed to Yukinoshita in Kamakura.
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1898 – 1972. A pupil under Kiyokata Kaburaki, his main achievement was to see the fruition of the bijinga genre. A highly cultured man of versatile talent, he wrote his own kouta ballads. In his latter years, he lived in Kamakura, and it was here that Goyoh Ohtake received his training. This school has its roots in Edo (present-day Tokyo), especially the Nihonbashi area, and in Kamakura.
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Following tradition, Goyoh was given a pseudonym; like Shinsui and Kiyokata before him, his name, Goyoh, meaning “five oceans,” is written using a character that contains the water element. He is an artist in the world of Japanese painting following in the orthodox traditions of the Genyadana school, who has inherited the tradition of ukiyo-e art.
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