Okakura Tenshin

« Back to Index
NAME Okakura Tenshin / 岡倉天心
BIRTH & DEATH 1863-1913
BIRTHPLACE Kanagawa pref.

PEN NAME 天心
MASTER Ernest Fenollosa
POSITION
  • Principal of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (Tokyo School of Fine Arts).
  • The first head of the Asian art division of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
  • Judge for the Bunten exhibition.
RECORD OF AWARDS The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays.
NOTE

DESCRIPTION

Okakura Tenshin (岡倉天心, 1863-1913) was an art critic and teacher. He had a tremendous influence on the development of traditional Japanese art. With Ernest Fenollosa and Hashimoto Gahō, he was put in charge of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (Tokyo School of Fine Arts) when it opened in 1889. In the same year, with Takahashi Kenzō, he began publication of the journal Kokka. In 1897, following a bitter quarrel, he resigned from the art school with a number of the professors and former students; eventually established the Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute). His pupils were Yokoyama Taikan, Hishida Shunsō, Shimomura Kanzan, Kimura Buzan, etc.

  • 1863: Born in Yokohama, Kanagawa pref.
  • 1873: Moved to Tokyo.
  • 1875: Tokyo Imperial University, where he first met and studied under Harvard-educated professor Ernest Fenollosa.
  • 1886-1887: Visited Europe and America for inspection to establish the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (Tokyo School of Fine Arts).
  • 1889: Began publication of the journal Kokka.
  • 1890: Became the 1st principal of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (Tokyo School of Fine Arts) .
  • 1898: Resigned from the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (Tokyo School of Fine Arts) and established the Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute).
  • 1901-1902: Visited India.
  • 1904: Be invited by William Sturgis Bigelow to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
  • 1910: Became the first head of the Asian art division of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
  • 1912: Became a judge for the Bunten exhibition.
  • 1913: Died. Be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays.

 

« Back to Index