Nakazawa Hiromitsu

Early Training

Born in Tokyo’s Shibaura district into a samurai family, Nakazawa lost his parents at a young age and was raised by his grandmother. As a teenager, he studied at Soyama Sachihiko’s (1859-1892) Daikōkan Western-style painting studio, under the tutelage of Soyama and Horie Moriaki (1852–1932). Along with fellow artists Okada Saburōsuke (1869-1939), Wada Eisaku (1874-1959) and Miyake Katsumi (1874-1954) he was to “inherit” the school upon Soyama’s death.4 In 1896, at the age of twenty-two, Nakazawa entered the Western Painting Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts studying under Kuroda Seiki (1866-1924), graduating in 19005. While studying with Seiki he participated in the 1896 founding of the Hakubakai 白馬会 (White Horse Society), dedicated to promoting plein-air French academic painting, contributing woodblock prints to their magazine, Kōfūm.

Sketch-Tour Genre

In 1905, Nakazawa began his work both as author and illustrator in the very popular sketch-tour genre, ultimately becoming its most prolific artist. The genre, which saw artists traveling throughout the country and the Japanese colonies sketching and writing about the places visited, lasted until 1920. Nakazawa’s contribution to this genre included: 

Gojūsantsugi suketchi (Sketches of the Fifty-Three Stations) - published in 1905 and containing five tipped in color woodblock prints designed by the artist (pencil sketches with added color wash) and produced by the famous woodblock carver Igami Bonkotsu (1877-1933) and the well-established printer Nishimura Kumakichi (1861-c.1941). 

Nihon Meishō Shasei Kikō (Sketches and Travel Notes on Japanese Sights) - five volumes published between 1906 and 1912 by Yamada Kyūrō using the work of multiple artists including Nakazawa and containing 55 lithograph and woodblock illustrations. 

Kinai kenbutsu (Scenes of the Inner Provinces) - three volumes published by Kanao Tanejirō (1879-1947) (the publishing house Bunendō) in 1911-1912, with all but one of the woodblock print illustrations designed by Nakazawa with woodblock carving by Igami and printing by Nishimura. (See this collection's book IHL Cat. #2034.)

Bungei Chiri Tōkaidō Gojūsantsugi (The Topography of the 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō in Words and Pictures) - published by Yokohama Kendō (1871-1943) in 1911 using the work of multiple artists including Nakazawa.

Shin Nihon kenbutsu (Scenes of New Japan) - published by Kanao Bunendō in 1918 showing scenes from the growing Japanese Empire using the work of multiple artists including Nakazawa.6 

Kinai Angya (Pilgrimage to Kinai) - published by Kanao Bunendō in 1919 showing scenes from the five kuni in the immediate vicinity of Kyoto created by multiple artists including Nakazawa.

Shin Nihon kenbutsu (A New Sightseeing Tour of Japan) - published by Kanao Tanejirō (1879-1947) (the publishing house Bunendō) in  1918, comprised of five sections: Taiwan no maki  台湾之巻, Karafuto no maki  樺太之巻, Chōsen no maki  朝鮮之巻, Manshū no maki  満州之巻, and Chintao no maki  青島之巻. Illustrations by ten artists in addition to Nakazawa. (See image below.)

With the demise of the sketch-tour book, partially due to the rising popularity of shin hanga single sheet landscape prints by artists such as Kawase Hasui (1883-1957), Bunendō began issuing series of single-sheet woodblock prints depicting artist travels, with minimal accompanying text, thereby putting primary emphasis on the prints. 

Continuing to work with Bunendō, Nakazawa would go on to design the 1922 fifty-print series titled Nihon Taikan (A Compendium of Japan) and the 1925 series/portfolio Saigoku sanjūsan kasho junrei gakan (Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces).7 (See image below.)

Other Illustrations

In addition to illustrations for novels and sketch-tour books, Nakazawa provided artwork for literary magazines including Myōjō 明星 (Morning Star), an influential poetry magazine started by the poet Yosano Tekkan (1878–1942), published between February 1900 and November 1908. During that same period he created a large number of designs for postcards including a 1905 series of deluxe woodblock printed postcards titled Beautiful women and the senses for the publisher Sunbikai in which Nakazawa combined more traditional imagery with European Art Nouveau motifs.8

Woodblock Prints - A Sampling (prints not in this collection)

Painting

In addition to the artistic organizations noted above, Nakazawa founded the Kofūkai (Light and Wind Club) with Katsumi Miyake and Hisui Sugiura (1876-1965) in 1912 and the Japan Watercolor Painting Society (Nihon Suisaigakai) in 1913. After returning in 1924 from two years of travel in Europe, visiting France, England and Spain, he founded the Hakujitsu-kai, an organization of Western-style painters still operating today.

Awards and Recognition

Nakazawa was made a member of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy (帝国芸術院会 Teikoku bijutsuin) in 1930 and its successor, the Imperial Art Academy (帝国美術院会 Teikoku geijutsuin) in 1937, and in 1944 he became an Imperial Household Artist (Teishitsu gigeiin 帝室技芸員).9 After the war, he both exhibited in, and became an advisor to, the Nitten and in 1957 he became a “person of cultural merit” (Bunka kōrōsha).10 In May of 1964 he was given the 3rd Order of the Rising Sun. 

Nakazawa passed away at the Nihon Medical University hospital in Tokyo Bunkyo Ward on September 8, 1964 at the age of 91.

Sogo Museum of Art "Retrospective Exhibition Commemorating the 140th Anniversary

of the Artist's Birth", 2014

Sample Artist Signature and Seals 

Prints in Collection

click on thumbnail for print details

Kinai kenbutsu

Shin'yaku Genji monogatari

Shin'yaku Heike monogatari

Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces

Prints by Nakazawa Hiromitsu

Picture Album of the Thirty-Three Pilgrimage Places of the Western Provinces

Prints by Other Artists