Kawai Seiji – vintage Japanese painting on shikishi – Mango in May
Original Japanese painting on shikishi by Kawai Seiji (1927–2008).
Title of the work: Mango – Sketch from Life in May.
Kawai Seiji was a Nagoya-based nihonga and suibokuga artist. He studied under Kawabata Ryushi, an important reformer of twentieth-century nihonga and the founder of the Seiryusha exhibition association.
Kawai participated in the Seiryuten and Inten exhibitions and later served as vice chairman of the Shin Bijutsu Kyokai. Within the exhibition system of this association, he received its Grand Prize, the Minister of Education Prize, and the Prime Minister’s Prize.
His biography also records participation in Japanese-organized exhibitions and art prize exhibitions held in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece.
Teaching formed an important part of Kawai Seiji’s professional activity. He taught nihonga and suibokuga at the Chunichi Culture Center and served as the head of an art association.
This work belongs to the more intimate side of his practice, combining an image with a short poetic inscription in the modern haiga tradition.
The inscription evokes the foliage of southern regions and the freshness of the mango. The front bears the artist’s abbreviated signature and red seal. The reverse records the title, the complete inscription, and the artist’s full name, Kawai Seiji.
The shikishi retains its original thick paper wrapper. The label repeats the title and the artist’s signature. The set also includes a biographical insert listing the artist’s exhibitions, awards, teaching activities, and organizational positions.
Probable date: late Showa to early Heisei period.
Materials: ink and color on a paper-covered shikishi board.
Title of the work: Mango – Sketch from Life in May.
Kawai Seiji was a Nagoya-based nihonga and suibokuga artist. He studied under Kawabata Ryushi, an important reformer of twentieth-century nihonga and the founder of the Seiryusha exhibition association.
Kawai participated in the Seiryuten and Inten exhibitions and later served as vice chairman of the Shin Bijutsu Kyokai. Within the exhibition system of this association, he received its Grand Prize, the Minister of Education Prize, and the Prime Minister’s Prize.
His biography also records participation in Japanese-organized exhibitions and art prize exhibitions held in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece.
Teaching formed an important part of Kawai Seiji’s professional activity. He taught nihonga and suibokuga at the Chunichi Culture Center and served as the head of an art association.
This work belongs to the more intimate side of his practice, combining an image with a short poetic inscription in the modern haiga tradition.
The inscription evokes the foliage of southern regions and the freshness of the mango. The front bears the artist’s abbreviated signature and red seal. The reverse records the title, the complete inscription, and the artist’s full name, Kawai Seiji.
The shikishi retains its original thick paper wrapper. The label repeats the title and the artist’s signature. The set also includes a biographical insert listing the artist’s exhibitions, awards, teaching activities, and organizational positions.
Probable date: late Showa to early Heisei period.
Materials: ink and color on a paper-covered shikishi board.