Katsuji Miura 三浦勝治 1917–2016
Works on Shikishi
Katsuji Miura was a Japanese yōga painter, draftsman, and illustrator, best known for works connected with the Silk Road, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the people of different regions of Asia.
Miura was born in Seki, Gifu Prefecture. He studied painting and applied drawing in Osaka and Tokyo. In 1939, he moved to Beijing, and later lived in Tianjin, where he took part in the local art scene. This early experience of continental Asia became an important foundation for one of the central directions of his later work.
Miura worked within the yōga tradition - Japanese painting developed in dialogue with European artistic methods. At the same time, the mature subject matter of his art was connected above all with Asia rather than Europe. He depicted cities, architecture, landscapes, and people from regions associated with the historic routes of the Silk Road, including Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Travel drawing occupied an independent place in his artistic practice. In 1970, a solo exhibition of his Silk Road works was held in Tokyo. In 1990, Miura presented a retrospective exhibition of drawings from the same cycle; they were later published as a separate album. His works and writings also appeared in publications devoted to drawing, watercolor, and travel sketching.
Miura was active not only as an individual artist, but also within the Japanese exhibition system. From 1973 to 1985, he headed Genten, an independent association of contemporary Japanese artists. This long leadership role underlines his notable position within postwar yōga and the culture of public art exhibitions in Japan.
In 2011, the Katsuji Miura Art Museum opened in the artist’s native city of Seki. Its collection is devoted to the main themes of Miura’s work: the Silk Road, Central Asia, people from different regions of Asia, and Japanese landscapes.
Miura’s art stands at the intersection of travel observation, figurative drawing, and postwar Japanese yōga. His works preserve the visual experience of encounters with the cities, landscapes, and people of Asia, while remaining grounded in the discipline of painting and drawing.
Miura was born in Seki, Gifu Prefecture. He studied painting and applied drawing in Osaka and Tokyo. In 1939, he moved to Beijing, and later lived in Tianjin, where he took part in the local art scene. This early experience of continental Asia became an important foundation for one of the central directions of his later work.
Miura worked within the yōga tradition - Japanese painting developed in dialogue with European artistic methods. At the same time, the mature subject matter of his art was connected above all with Asia rather than Europe. He depicted cities, architecture, landscapes, and people from regions associated with the historic routes of the Silk Road, including Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Travel drawing occupied an independent place in his artistic practice. In 1970, a solo exhibition of his Silk Road works was held in Tokyo. In 1990, Miura presented a retrospective exhibition of drawings from the same cycle; they were later published as a separate album. His works and writings also appeared in publications devoted to drawing, watercolor, and travel sketching.
Miura was active not only as an individual artist, but also within the Japanese exhibition system. From 1973 to 1985, he headed Genten, an independent association of contemporary Japanese artists. This long leadership role underlines his notable position within postwar yōga and the culture of public art exhibitions in Japan.
In 2011, the Katsuji Miura Art Museum opened in the artist’s native city of Seki. Its collection is devoted to the main themes of Miura’s work: the Silk Road, Central Asia, people from different regions of Asia, and Japanese landscapes.
Miura’s art stands at the intersection of travel observation, figurative drawing, and postwar Japanese yōga. His works preserve the visual experience of encounters with the cities, landscapes, and people of Asia, while remaining grounded in the discipline of painting and drawing.