Kikuchi Yōsai

Yosai Kikuchi (Japanese菊池 容 斎; * November 28, 1781, † June 16, 1878 ), also known as Kikuchi Takeyasu (菊池 武 保) and Kawahara Ryohei known, was a Japanese painter who is known for his monochrome portraits of historical personalities.

He was the son of a samurai named Kawahara from Edo and was adopted by the Kikuchi family, who were supporters of the Tokugawa clan for a long time. As a 18 -year-old was Kikuchi Yosai pupil of the painter Takata Enjo. After studying at the schools Kanō, Shijō and Maruyama (probably under Ozui, a son of Maruyama Ōkyo ) he developed his characteristic style that is compared with that of Tani Bunchō.

His most impressive work of monochrome portraits is the Zenken Kojitsu, a collection of portraits of the heroes of Japanese history. The more than 500 ink portraits are based on historical and even archaeological investigations of the artist and published in 1878 in printed form.