page_title: Hara school of painters
section_title: Hara Zaisen
hierarchical_section_title: Hara school of painters / Hara Zaisen
caption_attribution_description: English: Ninna-ji's Shinden in Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Ninna-ji was registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic monuments of ancient Kyoto". 日本語: 仁和寺宸殿上段の間（門跡の御座所） 。所在地は京都府京都市右京区。仁和寺はユネスコ世界文化遺産「古都京都の文化財」の一部
context_page_description: The Hara School was a Kyoto-based Japanese painting atelier established in the late Edo era, which continued as a family-controlled enterprise through the early 20th century. The Hara artists were imperial court painters and exerted great influence within Kyoto art circles. They contributed paintings to various temples and shrines, as well as to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
context_section_description: Zaisen was born in 1849 with the surname Watanabe, and his name changed to Hara at age 9 when he was adopted by Hara Zaishō. His career spanned the Meiji and Taishō periods, a time of great modernization and westernization in Japan. He became fourth head of the Hara academy in 1862 at just 13 years of age.
  Zaisen was highly active in the Kyoto art world, In 1867, he was selected to represent Japan at the Paris International Exposition. In 1880, he became one of 43 shusshi (appointee) instructors at the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting (京都府画学校), where he continued to teach until 1894.  From early Meiji on, Zaisen was a committee member in art associations such as the Joun-sha  and the Kōso Kyōhai, which organized meetings and competitions. From 1882 through the 1890s, he participated in a number of Domestic Painting Competitions (Naikoku Kaiga Kyoshinkai), at which he won several awards.
  Zaisen was a master painter of Yamato-e (大和絵), and an expert at ancient court scenes. He has been referred to as the last imperial court painter, and, like previous Hara heads, Zaisen was commissioned to decorate the Kyoto Imperial Palace. He also worked on occasion for the Imperial Household Office. In 1887, he contributed a fusuma-e of a pine tree. Other famous works include paintings in the Shinden at Ninnaji Temple done in 1913, which have been praised for their impressive and refined seasonal landscapes. He is also celebrated for a scroll completed in 1912 to commemorate the Meiji emperor's death. Zaisen died in 1916 aged 68.
  Works from his oeuvre are in the collections of the  Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (京都市美術館), the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Kyoto National Museum among others. Documents linked to Zaisen are in the collection of the Kyoto Prefectural Library and Archives.
caption: Paintings at Ninnaji by Hara Zaisen
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