Her paintings often transcend the depiction of individual figures, capturing a cinematic allure as if portraying scenes from a silent film.*
*translated from a review of the exhibition “Osaka in the Eyes of Women Painters - The Definitive Exhibition" (決定版！ 女性画家たちの大阪) by Miki Manabu 三木学, appearing on the website of the International Association of Art Critics, Japan Section https://critique.aicajapan.com/2582 [accessed 5-10-24]
![Kitani Chigusa 木谷千種 [きたに ちぐさ] (1895–1947)](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/0J1U1v-A1H7DYGXkg-YT_XkuGMpIz0E30TXKdmGXW_qsT9Jaq0ZAeGZ20D8eHD7ccuiz3wEBHvsQqYMgxa_o3Yh4OBfPV0zmu0DYjZM-DZbpZR04-AKgD-QXBndd1s_iOA=w1280)
Undated photo of the artist
One of the quartet of Osaka women nihonga (Japanese style) artists known as the "Setsu-Getsu-Ka-Sei" (Snow, Moon, Flower, and Star), Kitani was born Yoshioka Eiko 吉岡英子 on February 17, 1895.[1] Her family home was in the Kita-ku ward of Osaka on Dōjima Hama-dōri 2-chōme.
click on image to enlarge
The members of the Four Women Association, known as "Setsu-Getsu-Ka-Sei" (Snow, Moon, Flower, and Star), 1916
from left to right: Okamoto Kōen (1895-?), Kitani Chigusa ("Snow"), Shima Seien (1892-1970) , and Matsumoto Kayō (1893-?).
Her father, Yoshioka Seijiro 吉岡政二郎, was a dealer in Western goods and sundries. Showing an early talent for painting, at the age of 12 she was sent to Seattle, Washington for two years to study Western style (yōga) painting.[2] In 1909 she returned home to attend the elite Osaka Prefectural Shimizudani Girls High School. In July of that same year the Great Kita Fire engulfed her family's Dōjima residence.
While in high school she studied under the guidance of renowned Shijō school painter Fukada Chokujō 深田直城 (1861-1947), known for his kachō-ga (bird and flower paintings). After graduating from high school in 1913, she moved to Tokyo to study under, and live in the household of, the female nihonga painter and occasional woodblock print designer Ikeda Shōen 池田蕉園 (1886-1917), known for her paintings of bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women).
At the age of twenty, in 1915, she returned to Osaka to live with her uncle, Yoshioka Jūsaburō 吉岡重三郎 (1883-1974), a prominent figure in Osaka's entrepreneurial circles, who played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Takarazuka Revue and the growth of Hankyu Electric Railway. While she was studying in Osaka under the well-regarded nihonga painter Kitano Tsunetomi (1880-1947) and Kitano's friend the nihonga painter Noda Kyūho 野田九浦 (1879-1971), her painting Hari-kuyō 針供養, (Memorial Service for Old and Broken Needles), see Reference Images, was selected for the 1915, 9th Bunten Exhibition (Ministry of Education Art Exhibition).[3]
In 1916 Kitani, along with three other young female artists Shima Seien 島成園 (1892-1970), Okamoto Kōen 岡本更園 (1895-?) and Matsumoto Kayō 松本華羊 (1893-1961), formed the Joshi-ri no kai (also seen romanized as Onna yonin no kai) 女四人の会 (Four-Woman Society) for mutual support and to promote and exhibit their own work. The group held a single exhibition in May 1916 at the Mitsukoshi department store in Osaka, showing paintings based on the work Kōshoku gonin onna (The Sensuality of Five Women) written in 1686 by Ihara Saikaku 井原西鶴 (1642-1693). It's unclear how long this association continued, but during this time when these four women were sensations on the art scene, evoking both positive and negative reviews of their work and themselves, their mutual support must have been comforting.
In 1918, she would create the painting Ongoku (see Reference Images) in memory of her little brother who passed away that year, ongoku being a song associated with the Bon Festival Also known as urabon or obon, a Buddhist ritual usually observed on July 13 or 15 to honor ancestral spirits. The scene portrayed in this work, shown at the 12th Bunten in 1918, is thought to be from the bunraku play “Shinpan Utazaimon“ and the girl looking at the children through the lattice is considered to be the character Osome, the daughter of an oil merchant in the play.
In 1919 she began studying under the nihonga painter Kikuchi Keigetsu 菊池契月 (1879-1955) in Osaka upon the recommendation of the famous Kyoto nihonga painter Takeuchi Seihō 竹内栖鳳 (1864-1942).
In 1920 she married Kitani Hōgin 木谷蓬吟 (1877-1950), a researcher on the great dramatist of jōruri (a type of dramatic recitation accompanied by a shamisen associated with the Japanese puppet theater), Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Hōgin would publish the comprehensive 16-volume "Dai Chikamatsu Zenshū" in 1922-1925 and Chigusa would be one of eighteen artists to contribute a woodblock print design (see Reference Images) to the eighteen woodblock prints issued under the name Dai Chikamatsu zenshū furoku mokuhan to supplement the work.
In the year of her marriage to Hōgin, she established the painting school Yachigusa-kai (八千草会) at her Osaka home where she aimed to nurture, instruct and improve the status of female painters. "Essentially, women attended this school as part of their premarital lessons, but in 1925, [she] reorganised the school into a research facility and began holding exhibitions. She also organized her own exhibitions with other women painters in Osaka."[4]
"Chigusa's approach to teaching was particularly innovative, incorporating elements that resonate with modern art education. She invited external instructors, organized exhibitions for her students, and structured her teaching methods in a manner akin to contemporary art schools. Her forward-thinking approach reflected a growing awareness of the role of art education in nurturing and empowering aspiring artists."[5]
木谷千種と八千草会の写生旅行(昭和3年4月)大和薬師寺にて
Sketching trip of Kitani Chigusa and Yachigusa-kai, April 1928 at Todai-ji Temple in Yamato Province.
At the 6th Teiten exhibition in 1925, her work Mayu no nagori (Remnants of the Eyebrows), see Reference Images, in which the diaphanous kimono worn by an alluring woman revealed too much resulting, it is reported, in a police warning to paint less provocative images in the future.[6]
In the following year at the 7th Teiten, her work Jōruri Bune (Jōruri boat) was exhibited (see Reference Images.)
After giving birth to a son Gin'ichi 吟一 in 1921, she combined the care of her son and domestic work with her work as a creator and teacher. She continued to paint and exhibit regularly at official exhibitions into the 1930s and design illustrations for popular magazines such as, Shōjo no tomo 少女の友 (Girls' Friend); Shufu no tomo 主婦之友 (Housewife's Friend); Gekkan Nishi Nihon 月刊西日本 (Western Japan Monthly); Fujokai 婦女界 (Women's Sphere), see Reference Images below; Omoshito kurabu 面白倶楽部 (Omoshito Club) and Rekishi Shashin 歴史写真 (Historical Photographs) for which she and her students designed numerous covers and frontispieces as shown below under Reference Images, almost up until her death.
"Chigusa Kotani stands out as one of the few female painters who remained at the forefront of the art world until her late years. This remarkable achievement can be attributed, in part, to the unwavering support of her husband, Hōgin, and the camaraderie of her fellow Yachigusa-kai members."[7]
During World War II, the air raid bombing of the city of Osaka in 1945, which left almost 4,000 dead and 700 missing, destroyed Chigusa's home, business and many pieces of her art. She was to pass away two years later at the age of 51 on January 24, 1947 in her home.
木谷蓬吟 千種 先生之碑
Monument dedicated to "Kitani Hōgin and Chigusa" located at Takatsu no miya (Kozu Shrine), Osaka.
[1] Mention of Setsu-Getsu-Ka-Sei is made in "Kaikodo Journal XVII: In the Eye of the Beholder," Kaikodo (Gallery : New York, N.Y.) , 2000, p. 140.
[2] No details seem to be available on the two years she spent in Seattle.
[3] The Bunten (文 展) and its successor Teiten (帝展) official government exhibitions, held each year from 1907 to 1918 (Bunten) and 1919 to 1934 (Teiten, with the exception of 1923, the year of the Great Kanto Earthquake), would attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to see several hundred selected works picked from several thousand submitted works.
[4] "Women Nihonga Painters and Bijinga" by Kojima Kaoru https://awarewomenartists.com/en/magazine/premieres-femmes-peintres-de-bijinga/ [accessed 5-8-24]
[5] Translated from a leaflet for the exhibition 女、画を描く―木谷千種と大阪画壇― "Women, Painting: Chigusa Kotani and the Osaka Art Scene" A Celebration of Female Artists at the Ikeda City Museum of History and Japanese Folklore
[6] https://blog.goo.ne.jp/k-caravaggio/e/7137c9d56786c09ba724e77e7620d798 [accessed 5-11-24]
[7] Translated from leaflet for the exhibition 女、画を描く―木谷千種と大阪画壇― "Women, Painting: Chigusa Kotani and the Osaka Art Scene" A Celebration of Female Artists at the Ikeda City Museum of History and Japanese Folklore, p. 4.
January 1932 issue of "Fujin Kurabu" (Ladie's Club) - photo of artist and her commentary on men's rude behavior.
image source: post by 井嶋ナギ@nagi_ijima https://twitter.com/nagi_ijima/status/1653411320337960960/photo/1 [accessed 5-11-24]
"In 1915 the Bunten accepted the work of nine women artists in the nihonga division, including [Uemura] Shōen [上村松園 (1879-1945)] and [Itō] Shōha [伊藤小坡 (1877-1968)] along with the younger artists Ikeda Shōen [池田蕉園] (1888-1917) in Tokyo and Shima Seien (1892-1970) and Yoshioka Chigusa [木谷千種] (1895-1947), later known at Kitani Chigusa [木谷千種], in Osaka. All nine specialized in bijinga." While some, such as Uemura Shōen, "continued to embrace the conservative bijinga mode, others, reflecting the changes in contemporary society, began to pioneer new subjects and styles" helping to craft a more modern woman.[1]
During the Taishō era (Jul 30, 1912 – Dec 25, 1926) advocates of women’s rights, well educated and outspoken 'new women' (atarashii onna), "vigorously challenged the traditional social norms and moral ethics that had confined women to a domestic role."[2]
More women began to take their place in the public arena as laws allowed, with the art world being one such space where women could make their mark, particularly in the more traditional art genre of nihonga. The December 28, 1916 issue of The Japan Weekly Chronicle noted that there were "six or seven hundred female artists in Japan gaining their living practicing their profession."[3]
Much of the discussion about the "new women" played out in popular magazines targeted to women. Chigusa's insights into cosmetics, hairstyles, and married and social life were featured in popular women's magazines such as "Fujokai" and "Fujin Kurabu." In the January 1932 issue of "Fujin Kurabu" (Ladie's Club), shown here, Chigusa expresses her frustration with men's inconsiderate behavior: "How rude it is for men to gossip about women's appearances in front of them! What do you ladies think?" Her comments brought forth a discussion on men's violations of etiquette from a women's perspective.[4]
[1] Modern Masters of Kyoto The Transformation of Japanese Painting Traditions, Nihonga from the Griffith and Patricia Way Collection, Michiyo Morioka and Paul Berry, Seattle Asian Art Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1999, p. 23.
[2] Ibid.
[3] "Art and Artist in Japan: Painting as a Profession" by 'JapAnglo' [pseudonym for an unidentified Japan Times and occasional Japan Weekly Chronicle columnist] appearing in the December 28th, 1916 issue of The Japan Weekly Chronicle.
[4] post by 井嶋ナギ@nagi_ijima https://twitter.com/nagi_ijima/status/1653411320337960960/photo/1 [accessed 5-11-24]
Hari-Kuyō 針供養 (Memorial Service for Old and Broken Needles), 1915
A postcard reproduction of the painting selected for the 9th Bunten Exhibition.
The painting references the custom whereby women collect broken needles on February 8th and offer them as acts of respect for their service, at their local shrines, The model for the painting is believed to have been a famous geisha from Osaka's Minami district.
Hari-Kuyō 針供養 (Memorial Service for Old and Broken Needles),
after 1915
Very similar to her 9th Bunten submission, this painting was commissioned by an admirer. Collection of the Ikeda City Museum of History and Folklore
Ongoku をんごく, 1918
selected for the 12th Bunten Exhibition
65.3 in. x 134.4 in. (166 x 342 cm), color on silk, 6 panel folding screen
Collection of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka.
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![Mayu no nagori 眉の名残 (Remnants [Traces] of Eyebrows) Selected work at the 6th Teiten Exhibition, 1925. 《眉の名残》Taishō14 帝展の入選作品。 第6回帝展入選作](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/HsqPx8hJlac3Gu7WauNsT2mHnb06rXKHDl8aFFe8KZbAFwDoKKyT4jMP4WHx8nAfJ8gIzLxk4Uax_aKxU6RztCZJKv8aVyI6zW2YoPB-DFraRUWI86Ynt_n_0LxKxGG9Qw=w1280)
Mayu no nagori 眉の名残 (Remnants [Traces] of Eyebrows)
Selected work at the 6th Teiten Exhibition, 1925.
《眉の名残》Taishō14 帝展の入選作品。
第6回帝展入選作
Ningyōzukai no tsuma 人形使ひの妻
(The Puppeteer's Wife), 1923
image from a postcard issued in 1936
Location of original work unknown
Jōruri bune 浄瑠璃船 (Joruri boat), 1926
舟遊びを描いた帝展入選作.
color on silk, 6 panel folding screen
69 x 141.8 in. (175.3×360.0 cm)
Kitani Chigusa's "Jōruri Bune" (1926, collection of the Osaka City Museum of Modern Art). A work selected for the 7th Teiten Exhibition depicting a boat excursion with its passengers enjoying a jōruri performance provided by a tayū (narrator) and shamisen player. (The kana characters ょるり, jōruri, are seen on the pillar of the performances boat.)
The work, considered a masterpiece, is held in the collection of the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka.
The Heroine Ochiyo in Love Suicides on the Eve of the Kōshin Festival
from the supplement to Volume 14 of the "Complete Works of Chikamatsu"
Merritt in her brief notes on the artist in Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975, makes reference to "Woodblock bijin-ga published by Nishinomiya," likely the publisher Nishinomiya Shoin 西宮書院, but I cannot find any images or references to Kitani designing prints for Nishinomiya. The only confirmed woodblock print designed by the artist appears to be the print she designed as part of the 18 woodblock print supplement, titled Woodblock Print Supplements to the Complete Works of Chikamatsu, to her husband's comprehensive 16-volume work, "Dai Chikamatsu Zenshū," issued 1922-1925.
Like many Taishō era painters, Kitani worked as an illustrator creating covers, frontispieces and inserts for many of the popular magazines of the period. A few examples are shown below, including work she did for the pioneering graphic magazine Rekishi shashin 歴史写真 (History in Photographs), which often featured her work and those of her students for their covers, particularly between 1925 and 1927, but well into the 1930s.
click on image to enlarge
Sugoroku: Girls at Home and School, 1916
少女学校家庭双六
artists: Watanabe Fumiko, Yoshida Shuko and Yoshioka Chigusa
渡辺文子 吉田秋光 吉岡千種
Supplement to Volume 12, Issue 1 of Shōjo Sekai (Girls' World)
少女世界第12巻第1号附録
click on image to enlarge
Visit (Hōmon), 1919
Frontispiece for the May 1919 issue of Fujokai (Women's Sphere)
婦女界 口絵
click on image to enlarge
Poor People, 1922
貧しき人々Hinashiki hitobito
Frontispiece for the November 1922 issue of Fujokai (Women's Sphere)
婦女界 口絵
Untitled illustration appearing in Issue 14 of Fujin kodomo hōchi (Women's and Children's News), 1931
婦人子供報知 第14号 昭和6
click on image to enlarge
"Spring Birds" Cover of the magazine Gekkan Nishi Nihon (Western Japan Monthly), March 1946
月刊西日本 昭和21年3月号 表紙画・木谷千種「春の鳥」
Starting in 1925 into the 1930s many of the covers of the magazine Rekishi Shashin 歴史写真 (History in Photographs), were designed by Chigusa and her students. The journal was published from 1913 until 1944 by entrepreneur Akiyoshi Zentarō (1866-1924) and was one of Japan's first graphic magazines focusing on the use of photographic illustrations. The magazines, which were aimed at a broad popular audience, feature brightly colored covers and traditional color frontispieces, followed by black-and-white photos illustrating a wide range of newsworthy domestic and international topics, including political events, sports and popular culture. A summary of significant historical events past and present occurring in months since the previous issue was provided on the back cover, e.g. from the July 1927 issue: "On July 4th in 1776, North America appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief and issued the Declaration of Independence."*
*actual date of Washington's being appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army was June 19, 1775.
Rekishi Shashin, Issue No. 169, July 1927
IHL Cat. #2726
click on link to enlarge
Rekishi Shashin, Issue No. 211, December 1930
IHL Cat. #2727
click on link to enlarge
Rekishi Shashin, Issue No. 282, November 1936
IHL Cat. #2728
click on link to enlarge
"Twelve Loyal and Virtuous Women of Japan" appearing in Rekishi Shashin 歴史写真
Courtesan Kiku Visits a Shrine at New Year, Print 1, 1935
日本節婦烈女十二鑑 (一)
『侠妓幾松の初詣』
Gyokuran in Her Youth, Print 5, 1935
日本節婦烈女十二鑑 (五)
『若き日の玉湯』
Kesa Gozen, Print 9, 1935
日本節婦烈女十二鑑 (九)
『袈裟御前』
Osan, Print 11, 1935
日本節婦烈女十二 (十一)
『おさん』
Note: With thanks for the assistance of the Asian Art Forum and I. Nagy.
signature千種 Chigusa
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signature千種 Chigusa
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千久さ Chigusa
signature 千種 Chigusa
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千久さ Chigusa
signature 千種 Chigusa
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千種 Chigusa
signature 千種 Chigusa
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ち九さ Chigusa [九 an alternative form of "ku"]
signature 千種 Chigusa
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千種 Chigusa
signature 千種 Chigusa
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千種 Chigusa
signature 千種 Chigusa
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英 ei
signature 千種女
Chigusa-jō
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千種 Chigusa
ちくさ Chigusa
[sonant mark not present on く]
千く佐 Chigusa [sonant mark not present on く]
ちくさ Chigusa
[sonant mark not present on く]
last revision:
5/30/24
5/13/24 created
click on thumbnail for print details
Bijin Gazing into Garden (untitled) from an unknown magazine
c. 1915-early1930s
IHL Cat. #1344
Bijin Gazing into Garden (untitled) from an unknown magazine
c. 1915-early1930s
IHL Cat. #2385
Yomibito (讀み人), New Year's Day appendix to the newspaper Fukuoka Nichi Nichi Shinbun
福岡日日新聞
January 1, 1929
IHL Cat. #2112
Fruit 果物 from the supplement titled Collection of Masterpieces of Beautiful Women in Summer Dress on Shikishi to the magazine Shufu no Tomo (The Housewife's Friend), August 1932
IHL Cat. #2665d