Kumashiro Yūhi (1712-1773) 熊代熊斐

A striking portrayal of a tiger painted by Kumashiro Yūhi. Yūhi was born to the Kumashiro family, a family that supplied the government with tōtsūji, Japanese-Chinese interpreters. His father was one such translator. At age 21, Yūhi became an apprentice translator, but never advanced beyond that.

In 1731, he became the pupil of Shen Quan (1682-1760), a visiting Chinese painter who stayed in Nagasaki until 1733. Later, he continued studying under Gao Qian, another disciple of Shen Quan. During this time, the Nanpin school of art was established in Japan, largely based on earlier styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties, which focused mainly on bird-and-flower painting (kachōga). The school was named after Nanpin, which was Shen Quan's art name, and Yūhi was considered one of the school's most passionate members and known as the only Japanese painter who studied directly under Shen Nanping.

Yūhi's art was esteemed by the Japanese public, who regarded his paintings as a worthy native substitute for Chinese works, which were hard to find in Japan. In comparison to the style of his master Shen Nanping, Kumashiro focused much more on volume and on detail, which often seem to stand out from the level of the surface. His shapes are quite abstract. Later, he went on to teach other artists, such as Sō Shiseki (1715-1786), Mori Ransai (1740-1801)  and Kakutei (1722-1786). His students would then spread this "Nagasaki style" of art to major cities like Edo, Osaka and Kyōto.

Yūhi had a strong interest in sketching from nature. However, since tigers were indegenous to China and Korea, but not to Japan, painters usually draw their inspiration from conventions, legends and house cats. But not so Yūhi. An interesting anecdote is documented in the "Biographies of Modern Eccentrics, Continued" (Zoku kinsei kijinden, vol. 5) published in 1798, in which he approached a caged tiger brought by a foreigner to Nagasaki. Yūhi struck it on the head with a bamboo pole to see it move. It roared, scaring off the other bystanders, but he continued boldly but calmly to sketch the tiger, refusing to leave.

A very similar work of a tiger by Yūhi is published in: Nagasaki-ha no Kachō-ga: Shin Nanbin to sono shūhen ("Flower-Bird-Painting by the Nagasaki School: Shen Nanpin and his Surroundings"), 4 Volumes, Ajiato shuppan (1981), color plate 115. A later work, painted with ink and colors and dated to 1762 is in the collection of the Kyūshū National Museum.

The painting is signed with his artist name: Kiyō Shūkō Yūhi ("Shūkō Yūhi from Nagaski") and sealed: Shūkō eki ("Painted by Shūkō").

INQUIRE