Okakura, Tenshin [Kakuz]

Date born: 1863

Place Born: Yokohama, Japan

Date died: 1913

Place died: Niigata Prefect, Japan

Museum curator and historian of Japanese painting. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1880, Okakura became a member of the Ministry of Education. His interests later turned to art education, allowing him to travel to Europe and America to do research on art education methods. Upon his return to Japan, Okakura was appointed head of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. His leadership encouraged artists to develop a new style of painting that combined the conventional style of the Japanese painting technique Nihonga with Western realism. After resigning from the School of Fine Arts in 1898, Okakura created the Japan Art Institute. His interest in Western painting, and his knowledge of Japanese painting styles led Okakura to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where he served as both an advisor and as the head of the East Asian department. LMW

Home Country: Japan

Sources: The Dictionary of Art

Bibliography: The Ideals of the East: with Special Reference to the Art of Japan. London: J. Murray, 1920; The Awakening of Japan.  New York: Special ed. for Japan Society, Inc., 1921.