Nishiyama Suishō

Japanese, 1879 - 1958

BiographyNishiyama Suishō (西山翠嶂 , 1879–1958) was a Japanese painter. He was born in Kyoto in 1879. His personal name was Usaburo. He became a disciple of Takeuchi Seihō (1864-1942, see Entry 81) in 1893. In 1915, he married Takeuchi Tei, one of his master's daughters. In 1898, Nishiyama graduated from Kyoto Municipal School of Fine Arts and Crafts (see Entry B1b). He also took up a professorship at that school, and in 1933, he became the school principal.
In time, he and Kikuchi Keigetsu (菊池契月, 1879-1955) became important figures in the Kyoto art world. Nishiyama exhibited in Teiten, Bunten, and Inten art exhibitions sponsored by the government. Also, he was a member of the Imperial Art Academy and Imperial Household Art Committee. He received the Order of Cultural Merit in 1957. In 1919, Suisho became a judge at the first Teiten Exhibition.
In 1921, he established the private painting school Seiko Sha (see Entry C2) and cultivated Dōmoto Inshō (堂本印象, 1891–1975), Nakamura Daizaburo, Uemura Shoko and others.
In 1929, Suisho became a member of the Teikoku Bijutsu-In. In 1944, he was designated as a Teishitsu Gigei-In.
After the Second World War, Suisho was still a leading figure of the Kyoto circle of painters, and, he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 1957. 

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