Yamamoto Baiitsu

Yamamoto Baiitsu (1783-1856) was a famous Japanese artist of the latter years of the Edo era. Baiitsu is best known for being a painter from the Nanga school, which is also known as literati painting. Yamamoto Baiitsu was born in Nagoya city, part of the province of Owari. He gained particular fame as a specialist in birds and flowers painting, landscapes and themes taken from Chinese painting. Along with his fellow and good friend Nakabayashi Chikutō (1776-1853), Baiitsu became one of the most famous figures of Owari Nanga school. Baiitsu was born in 1783 in Nagoya, which at that time belonged to the domain of Owari headed by the Tokugawa clan. Originally, his given name was Yamamoto Shōryō, while his courtesy name was Meikyō. He had multiple pseudonyms, among which the most famous is Baiitsu. The Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art and Tahara City Museum mention Nagoya as his place of birth and 1856 as his year of death. He was from a family related to the craft tradition. Namely, his father is usually mentioned as Yamamoto Yumigiemon, who was a sculptor working for the Owari Tokugawa family. Hence, this background made him operate within a context in which artistry and skillfulness were valued. As is suggested by the biographical tradition maintained by later authors, he was engaged with painting since his early years and later trained as a painter.

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