Ogawa Kazumasa

Key facts

Lived

1860–1929, Japanese^[3]

Movement

• Modernism

^[3]

Wikipedia

View article

• What is Ogawa Kazumasa known for?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa is known for being the first to achieve several photographic milestones in Japan. He was the first photographer to receive the title of Imperial Household Artist, the first Japanese^[3] member of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, and the first to use halftone reproduction in a Japanese newspaper.
• What is Ogawa Kazumasa's most famous work?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa (1860^[3]-1929^[3]) was a Japanese^[3] photographer, printer, and publisher active during the Meiji period. He is well known for his photographic portraits, landscapes, and studies of Japanese culture. While it is difficult to identify one single "most famous" work, his series of photographic albums are particularly notable. These albums often featured hand-coloured photographs and showcased the beauty of Japan to Western audiences. Examples include "Types of Japan", "Costumes and Customs in Japan", and "Japanese Flowers". Ogawa also produced a significant body of work documenting the architecture and gardens of Japan. His photographs of temples, shrines, and natural settings helped to promote tourism and appreciation for Japanese aesthetics. He also made contributions to the development of photomechanical printing techniques in Japan, which allowed for the wider distribution of photographic images. His work had an important effect on the development of photography as an art form in Japan and its reception abroad.
• What should I know about Ogawa Kazumasa's prints?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa (1853-1929^[3]) was a Japanese^[3] photographer, collotype printer and publisher active during the Meiji period. He is considered a pioneer in photography and printing techniques in Japan. Japanese woodblock prints, including those by Ogawa, feature particular formal characteristics. The size of prints was limited by the woodblock, with the oban size being the most common. Larger images were created using multiple sheets. Prints typically include signatures, often in the lower part of the image. These signatures usually consist of a personal name and a second name given when the artist became an apprentice. Series titles or print titles can be found in the top corners. Publishers' marks are usually present, often near the signature. From 1790, a censorship system was in place, requiring a government approval seal on each print, except for private publications. After 1874^[3], the publication date was included in the print's margin, along with the publisher's name.
• What style or movement did Ogawa Kazumasa belong to?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa (1860^[3]-1929^[3]) was a photographer, printer, and publisher active during the Meiji period (1868^[3]-1912^[3]) in Japan. He is best known for his photographs and photogravure prints. These document Japanese^[3] life, customs, and art. It is difficult to align his work with a single Western art movement. However, his aesthetic choices and technical innovations can be examined in relation to broader trends in art and photography at the time. Ogawa's work demonstrates influences from both traditional Japanese art and Western photographic techniques. His photographs often feature carefully composed scenes, a characteristic shared with Japanese painting and printmaking. He adopted photogravure, a process that allowed for the mass production of high-quality photographic prints. This aligns him with the Pictorialist movement in Western photography, which sought to elevate photography to the status of fine art through manipulation of the image and printing process. His work also has connections with Japonisme, a Western interest in Japanese art and design. Ogawa's photographs and prints contributed to the dissemination of Japanese imagery both within Japan and abroad.
• What techniques or materials did Ogawa Kazumasa use?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa (1860^[3]-1929^[3]) was a Japanese^[3] photographer, printer, and publisher who significantly contributed to the development of photography as an art form in Japan. He is noted for his mastery of several photographic and printing techniques. Ogawa was one of the first Japanese photographers to employ the collotype process, a printing technique that produces high-quality, continuous-tone images. He established a collotype printing business in 1889^[3] and used the process to reproduce photographs, illustrations, and other artworks. This allowed for the mass production of photographic prints with remarkable detail and tonal range. He also experimented with other photographic processes, including albumen prints and platinum prints. Albumen prints were popular in the 19th century, while platinum prints were prized for their archival qualities and subtle tonal gradations. Ogawa's skill in these different printing methods allowed him to achieve a range of aesthetic effects in his work. He also incorporated hand-colouring techniques into some of his photographic prints, further enhancing their visual appeal.
• What was Ogawa Kazumasa known for?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa (1860^[3]-1929^[3]) was a photographer, printer, and publisher who pioneered photographic printing techniques in Japan during the Meiji era. He is particularly noted for his work in collotype printing, a process that produces high-quality reproductions of photographs and artwork. He established one of the earliest photographic studios in Tokyo and became a leading figure in the development of photography as an art form. Ogawa documented Japanese^[3] life, culture, and scenery, producing numerous photographic albums and books. His work helped to promote Japanese art and culture both domestically and internationally. He also made significant contributions to the field of photomechanical printing, enabling the wider dissemination of photographic images in publications. His technical expertise and artistic vision made him a prominent figure in the history of Japanese photography.
• When did Ogawa Kazumasa live and work?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa, also known as Ogawa Sōtarō or by his art name Ninsei, was born in the Shitaya section of Edo (modern Tokyo) in 1860^[3]. His father was a kimono merchant connected to the Maeda daimyo of Kaga province. Ogawa died in 1919^[3]. From the age of fourteen, Ogawa studied with Nakajima Kyosai, a favoured disciple of Kikuchi Yosai. In 1877, his gold-lacquer patterns received an award at the first Domestic Industrial Exposition. From 1887 through the 1890s, he collaborated with Hasegawa Takejiro on book illustrations intended for foreign markets. During the 1890s, he also designed illustrations for the newspaper Hochi shimbun and a complex nishiki-e for Hana, A Daughter of Japan by Murai Gensai (1904). He taught at the Ishikawa prefectural technical school from 1889 to 1893. Ogawa joined Japan Art Institute in 1898. He received awards at the first and third Bunten and at the Japanese^[3]-British exposition in 1910.
• Where can I see Ogawa Kazumasa's work?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa's work can be viewed in several locations, including private collections and museums. Some notable collections include those of Mr Tamaki Makita and Mr Takashi Masuda, which feature Japanese^[3] painting and porcelain, as well as sculpture and industrial arts. The Tokyo National Museum has a collection of 14,000 prints; this was enhanced in 1921^[3] by the addition of Henri Vever's collection of 8,209 prints. The museum's catalogue includes works by Kiyonaga, Shumman, Choki, Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige, Hokusai, Shigenobu, and Hokkei. The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg has around 300 surimono prints collected by Dr Julius Brinckmann in the late nineteenth century. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam owns a surimono collection from the late Mr J. A. Bieren de Haan. The Fogg Museum at Harvard University possesses a surimono collection. The Kunstmuseum in Dusseldorf has exhibited ukiyo-e on occasion, including surimono.
• Where was Ogawa Kazumasa from?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa's family name was Ogawa. He was also known by the artist names Kikumaro (until 1802), Kikumaro (using two characters for Kiku, from 1802 to 1804), Tsukimaro (1804 to around 1820), and Kansetsu (from around 1820). His given name was Sensuke. During the 1800s, he resided in Kodenmachō Sanchōme, where he worked as a watchman. Sometime in the 1810s or 1820s, he relocated to Bakurochō. It remains uncertain when he began his apprenticeship with Utamaro, but Tsukimaro initially created prints of beautiful women and illustrated books under the name Kikumaro. Until 1802, he used the character for 'kiku' (chrysanthemum) in his name, later changing it to two characters signifying 'joy eternal.' In March 1804, he adopted the name Tsukimaro. He continued designing prints until approximately 1820, when he changed his name to Kansetsu. From that point, he focused on scroll paintings of beautiful women, influenced by the Maruyama-Shijō School. His last dated work appeared in 1836, an illustration for a kyōka anthology.
• Who did Ogawa Kazumasa influence?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa's influence is not well documented, but Caravaggio's is. During the years after Caravaggio's death, few painters of note avoided his influence. Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velázquez, and Pietro da Cortona echoed his compositions and copied his techniques. Entire schools of so-called Caravaggisti formed in both Italy and the Netherlands within a generation. His impact on French art was especially potent, possibly because the French Academy in Rome was within walking distance of many of his altarpieces. His influence is detectable in the work of French painters such as Valentin de Boulogne and Georges de La Tour. Interest in his art saw a resurgence during the Neoclassical and Romantic periods. Joseph Wright of Derby's 1768 work, *Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump*, transformed a scientific demonstration into a modern version of a miracle as painted by Caravaggio. Jacques-Louis David painted the dead Marat slumped in his bath as one of Caravaggio’s martyrs. In 1819, Théodore Géricault conceived *The Raft of the Medusa* as a modern, secularised version of a Caravaggio altarpiece.
• Who was Ogawa Kazumasa?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa (1860^[3]-1929^[3]) was a photographer, printer, and publisher active during the Meiji era in Japan. Born in the Kōjimachi district of Edo (now Tokyo), he is considered a pioneer in photography and photomechanical printing. Ogawa studied English at a foreign-language school. He then learned photography in his early twenties, possibly with assistance from the American photographer William Kurtz. By 1882^[3], he had opened his own photographic studio in Tokyo. He is known for his portraits, scenic views, and documentation of Japanese^[3] life and culture. Ogawa also produced numerous photographic albums and books. These publications often featured hand-coloured photographs. He founded the Japan Photographic Society in 1889. In the 1890s, he pioneered collotype printing in Japan, establishing a printing company that produced high-quality reproductions of photographs and artworks. His work helped to promote photography as an art form and preserve Japanese cultural heritage.
• Why are Ogawa Kazumasa's works important today?+

  Ogawa Kazumasa (1860^[3]-1929^[3]) was a photographer and printer active during the Meiji era in Japan. His work is important for several reasons. He was a pioneer in photographic reproduction and printing techniques. Ogawa founded the first photographic printing company in Japan. He is credited with introducing collotype printing to the country. This process allowed for the mass production of photographs and illustrations. His company produced a wide range of materials, including textbooks, art books, and postcards. His photographs offer a view into Meiji-era Japan. He documented Japanese^[3] art, architecture, and culture. Among his notable publications are "Some Japanese Flowers" (1896^[3]), a series of photographic studies of blossoms, and "Types of Japanese Women" (1892), a collection of portraits. These works provide valuable historical and cultural documentation. Ogawa's technical skill and artistic vision helped to promote photography as an art form in Japan. He trained many photographers and printers, contributing to the development of the field. His influence can be seen in the work of later generations of Japanese photographers.