Tomioka Tessai

Tomioka Tessai is one of the greatest Japanese modern literati painters. He not only lived a life that testifies to the old Chinese proverb of ‘In addition to reading ten thousand books, you should travel ten thousand miles’, but also left an oeuvre of over ten thousand paintings and calligraphy. In particular, the sansui (Chinese-style landscape) paintings of his late career are highly praised. He is often said to paint as a literati rather than an artist, who always strived to convey his philosophy in his works.