Nakamura Daizaburō (1898-1947)
Maiko, Early 1920’s
Signed: Daizaburō; sealed: Daizaburō
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
22 x 22 inches (55.8 x 55.8 cm)
Tomobako signed Daizaburō dai and sealed
Maiko exhibits a style of beauty (bijin) often painted by Daizaburō in the early 1920’s. A cute, sassy modernized version of the traditional Kyoto apprentice geisha. Similar paintings dated 1921-26 are illustrated in Volume 3 of the series Gendai Nihon bijinga zenshū (Tokyo: Shūeisha, 1978).
A Kyoto artist, Daizaburō was the eldest son of Nakamura Yasukichi, who worked in a business related to textile dyeing. He graduated in 1915 from the Kyoto Municipal School of Fine Arts and Crafts and went on to study at the Kyoto Municipal Painting School. He was a pupil of Nishiyama Suishō (1879-1958), a Kyoto Nihonga painter who was one of the most important figures in the Kyoto art world. In 1918, while still a student, his work entitled “Confession” was accepted for exhibition. In 1920 “Silent Evening Aroma” was exhibited at the second Teiten and in 1922 “Tōrō no Otodo” was shown in the fourth Teiten. Both received special mention and were painted in a romantic style. He was touted as one of the three up-and-coming young artists of the Kyoto art community, the others being Fukuda Heihachirō and Dōmoto Inshō. In 1919 he graduated from painting school and entered a research school to study technical matters. He completed this period of study in 1924 and became a teacher at the research school. In 1925 he became an assistant professor at the Kyoto Municipal Painting School.
He specialized in beauty paintings ( bijinga) and genre paintings. His work was included in the first and third Teiten (1919 and 1921) as well as the 1924 Teiten. Beginning with “Piano” in 1926, which he exhibited at the seventh Teiten, he changed to more modern or Westernized beauties. He continued to submit paintings to the Teiten in 1928, 1930, and 1935. From 1928 he served as a juror for the Teiten and was also a juror for the Shin Bunten. In 1933 he established his own painting school. In 1936 he became a full professor at the Kyoto Municipal Painting School (his alma mater). In later years he sought out paintings related to literary themes. He was exhibiting with the Shin Bunten as late as 1943.
Daizaburo’s paintings are found in the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, the Kyoto City Museum, the Yamatani Museum of Art, Tokyo, the Kinoshita Museum, and the Honolulu Museum of Art.
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