Artists

Nakajima Kahō

Nakajima Kahō (中島華鳳) was a painter of the Maruyama school in Kyōto. He studied under Mori Kansai and received his calligraphic training from Tomioka Tessai.

Published on: Apr 12, 2025

Kakemono by Nakajima Kahō: owl on a branch, surrounded by sparrows. — Owl with sparrows – kakemono by Nakajima Kahō (中島華鳳) (detail)

In a nutshell

Nakajima Kahō (中島華鳳) was a Japanese painter of the Maruyama school. He was born in 1866 in Kyōto and bore the civilian name Kenshō. He received his training in painting under Mori Kansai and in calligraphy under Tomioka Tessai; he is documented as active until the early 1920s. His field of work was primarily Kachō-ga, bird-and-flower painting, in which the Maruyama school combined precise observation of nature with a decorative pictorial order.

Nakajima Kahō (中島華鳳): Painter of the Maruyama Tradition in Kyōto

Nakajima Kahō (中島華鳳) was born in 1866 in Kyōto and bore the civilian name Kenshō (憲章). He belongs to the Maruyama school, that direction founded by Maruyama Ōkyo which introduced precise observation of nature into Japanese painting in the 18th century and remained influential well into the 20th century. Kahō was active until the early 1920s.

Two Teachers: Mori Kansai and Tomioka Tessai

Kahō received his training in painting from Mori Kansai, one of the last great representatives of the Maruyama school in Kyōto during the Meiji period. He learned calligraphy from Tomioka Tessai – an exceptional figure who is regarded as Japan's last significant literati painter and whose impetuous brushwork differed markedly from the disciplined Maruyama style of painting. This dual training was not unusual for Kyōto painters of those years: painting and calligraphy were regarded as separate disciplines, each with its own teachers.

The Owl and the Sparrows

An owl on a branch, surrounded by sparrows: the motif has been common in Japanese painting since the 18th century and thrives on a contrast that everyone grasps immediately. The large bird sits motionless and lets it happen, while the small ones circle it in bright agitation. For the painter, the task is twofold: the owl demands stillness and mass, the sparrows movement and lightness, and both must emerge in the same hand. The Maruyama school, with its precise observation of plumage and posture, was especially well equipped for this task.