Jakuchu and Buson

Both born in 1716, a year that also saw the passing of Rinpa school innovator Ogata Korin, Kyoto-based painters Ito Jakuchu and Yosa Buson came to make indelible marks on Japanese art history in the middle of the Edo period. Known for expressing traditional themes such as animals and flowers with an experimental style that mesmerised his contemporaries, Jakuchu lived a stable and prosperous life compared to Buson, whose pursuit of both painting and poetry took him on long and arduous travels all over Japan. Marking 300 years since their birth, the work of both of these masters is displayed throughout spring at Tokyo Midtown's Suntory Museum, making for a nice opportunity to get acquainted with the art of prosperous 18th-century Kyoto.