Takeuchi Seihō (1864–1942) 
Yamamoto Shunkyo (1871–1933) 
Kiyomizu Temple in Autumn /  Mount Fuji from Miho no Matsubara 
Japan, dated 1891 
Album; ink and color on silk 
Purchase, Richard Lane Collection, 2003 (2010.0322)

VIEW HI-RES IMAGE
 
The painting on the right, by Seihō, shows Kiyomizu Temple, one of Kyoto’s most famous sights. However, rather than depict the elevated platform for which the temple is best known (as in Hayashi Buntō’s Scenes of Kyoto), Seihō instead shows the approach to the temple, with the platform and main hall largely obscured, shifting focus instead to the brilliant red autumn maple leaves lining the path. Beyond the temple Mount Otoko, part of the Higashiyama range, rises in mist. 
 
The painting on the left, by Shunkyo, shows another of Japan’s famous sights, Mount Fuji as viewed from the pine trees at Miho (Miho no Matsubara). Rather than the typical composition during the Edo period with the pines seen from a distance in the midground, Shunkyo instead places the viewer close to the pines, which move across the foreground to climb a hill on the left. 
 
This album is a fascinating glimpse into the connections between artists associated with the Kyoto Prefecture Painting School. Seihō’s and Shunkyo’s paintings are early works, but later both would become influential professors at the school (Shunkyo in 1899, Seihō in 1909). The album also includes paintings by other professors, including Shunkyo’s and Seihō’s teacher Kōno Bairei (1844–1895) and Suzuki Shōnen (see Celebrating Victory and Nine Flaming Jewels in this exhibition).