Yano Yachō (1782 - 1828)

Painter of the Maruyama School in the late Edo period. Yachō is the painter's name and his real first name is Masatoshi. The Yano family made their living producing pictorial maps and took the name ‘Chōbei’ from generation to generation. Yacho was born in 1782 as the second son of Chōbei II. Accoring to the painting treatise Gajo Yoryoku (published in 1832), it is stated that he studied painting under Yamaguchi Soken (1759-1818), a student of Maruyama Ōkyo, and that he specialised in ‘Shakei’ or depicting landscapes, as opposed to Soken, who excelled at portraying beautiful women. In addition to this painting, other unique examples that do not fit into the Maruyama school are known, such as Ghosts in the Palace (owned by Fukuoka City Museum) and Kasuga Festival Scroll (owned by Kasuga Taisha Shrine).

Takeuchi Seihō (1864 - 1942)

Takeuchi Seihō was one of Kyoto's foremost masters of Japanese painting. In Kyoto he was affectionately known as ‘Seihō-san’. Born the eldest son of a Kyoto restaurateur, he studied under Shijō School painter Kōno Bairei (1844-1895), who gave him the name Seihō. He travelled to Europe for the first time on a visit to the Paris Universal Exposition in 1900 and on his return he was influenced by the event and breathed new life into the traditional world of Japanese painting.
Around 1902, he set up his villa ‘Kachū-an’ near the JR Saga Arashiyama station. This exhibition introduces a number of works that use the ‘Kachū-an’ seal as their signature. Seihō's skill in painting animals and landscapes in a richly emotive manner is unique. He is also known for having trained many famous painters at his school and art academy.