Nishimura Goun
Japanese, 1877 - 1938
Person TypeIndividual
BiographyNishimura Goun (西村五雲, 1877–1938) was born and lived his life in Kyoto. His real name was Genjirō 源次郎 and he was the second son of a Kyoto dyer. At the age of twelve he became the pupil of the Kyoto painter Kishi Chikudō (1826-1897, see Entry 28), known for his paintings of animals, studying under him for seven years until Kishi's death. In 1899 he began studying with Takeuchi Seihō (1864-1942, see Entry 81), known for his paintings of animals, which "stunned the public," at Seihō's private art school, Chikujokai. He showed at the Nihon Bijutsu Kyokai (Japan Art Association) and then with the Zenkoku Kaiga Kyoshinkai (National Competitive Painting Exhibition). He was a prize winner at the first Bunten in 1907, winning for his painting of a polar bear poised over a captured seal. He would go on to become a member, and frequent juror, of the Teiten, a member of the Imperial Art Academy and a professor at various Kyoto Art schools. He would go on to establish his own painting school in 1912. In 1914 he contracted a debilitating illness which limited him to producing small-scale works. In 1924 he returned to teaching and remained active until his death in 1936.