Japanese-style painter Kiyokata Kaburaki's 93 years (1878-1972) spanned Japan's great modern transformation. As a popular illustrator he chronicled the changing Japanese lifestyle; as an artist he played an important part in the great wave of creativity in nihonga (Japanese-style painting) during the first half of this century. A major retrospective is at the National Museum of Modern Art through May 9.
Born Ken'ichi Kaburaki, the son of Yamato Shinbun publisher and popular novelist Saigiku Jono, he grew up surrounded by journalists, artists and literary figures. The experience both fostered his own interest in art and literature and instilled a deep respect for the popular foundations of both.
The Yamato Shinbun, like other Japanese newspapers of its time (and still today), published serialized novels by popular novelists, and illustrations by popular artists. These newspapers provided a vehicle for ukiyo-e artists like Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, enabling them to make the transition to the new media age.