Hikida ( Hikita) Hōshō (1878-1934)
Mongolian Horse Riders
Signed: Hōshō; Sealed: Hōshō
Pair of six-panel screens; ink and color on paper
68 x 148 inches (173 x 376 cm)
The flowing manes and flying hooves of the Mongolian ponies chronicle the excitement of the chase. On the grassy plains, a group of women riders stalk their prey, a small rabbit that seems destined to become a tasty morsel in the evening cooking pot.
Exotic subjects such as this became a popular theme among early twentieth century Japanese artists. Japan’s push to gain territory in northern China resulted in their winning the prized land mass known as Manchuria that bordered on Inner and Outer Mongolia, offering Japanese artists a new artistic window. Russia conceded these territories along with commercial concessions to Japan at the end of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). Only a short time before that Russia had obtained the territories from China after several years of disputes. Japanese newspaper reporters and artists who did live sketches at the war front often included the life of the countryside in their stories and drawings. There is no record of Hōshō having visited Manchuria, so it is possible that it was from sources such as these that he received his inspiration for this pair of screens. Hōshō exhibited a similar pair of screens in the eleventh Bunten exhibit in 1917.
On September 15, 1926, an article in the magazine Kyoto Gadan Fusuhii described Hikida Hōshō as:
“a man of integrity whose paintings reflect grace and sensitivity.”
It went on to say that he was not concerned with fame and popularity but simply painted those subjects he liked, ignoring the trends and political involvements of the art societies, and living a simple life in his own rather shabby atelier.
Hōshō was born in Mikawa (Aichi Prefecture ) with the first name of Kumataro. He was the second son of Hikida Kumakichi, who had been a samurai (rank unknown) until the Meiji restoration in 1868. Their family lived in a town surrounding Yoshida castle and in 1876 the name of the town was changed to Toyohashi City. After Hōshō’s father lost his samurai status, he opened a restaurant, but when that failed he turned to farming.
When Kumataro finished elementary school he first worked as an apprentice at a photo studio and then, at age fifteen he met a Mr. Kameda who was originally from Toyohashi but owned a ceramic business in Yokohama. Kameda had heard about Kumataro’s talent as a painter and hired him to work for him, taking him to Yokohama to live and study ceramic painting for three years. During that time Kumataro found time to go to Tokyo and study Nihonga, and he became entranced with the world of Japanese art. Soon he decided to move to Kyoto and study under one of his favorite artists, Kikuchi Hobun (1868-1918) and it was at this time that he began to use the name Hōshō. In Kyoto Hōshō found work at Inoue Shōten designing silk and other fabrics, but he continued to study art and paint.
Hōshō was a regular exhibitor from the first Bunten in 1907, when at the age of twenty-nine he entered his painting Kuma (Bear), until the twelfth Bunten of 1918, missing only the exhibitions of 1910 and 1912. In the eleventh Bunten of 1917, he exhibited a similar pair of screens of women hunting with a hawk. He also exhibited his work in the 1920 and 1931 Teiten. In 1932 he acquired the title of “Mukansa,” meaning that he no longer had to submit his work for jury approval.
Perhaps the long hiatus in exhibiting his work toward the end of his life could be attributed to his personal character and his desire to remain quietly out of the limelight and pursue his own style, characterized by simplicity, beauty and elegance.
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