Iwasa Matabē
Who was Iwasa Matabē?
Japanese artist (1578-1650)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Iwasa Matabē (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Iwasa Matabei, originally named Araki Katsumochi, was born in 1578 in Itami and became a noteworthy Japanese painter during the early Tokugawa period. He worked on genre scenes, portraits, and illustrations from Japanese and Chinese literature. His life began with hardship as the son of Araki Murashige, an influential Sengoku period lord who was forced to commit suicide after a failed rebellion against Oda Nobunaga. Without his father's support, Matabei took his mother's family name, Iwasa, which he used throughout his career.
Matabei trained under Kanō Naizen from the well-known Kanō school, but his artistic style was more in line with the older Tosa school. In 1640, he signed portraits of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals, commissioned by shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, as 'the artist Matabei of the later current from Tosa Mitsunobu.' This choice showed his preference for the Tosa style over his Kanō training, highlighting how he distanced himself from the prevailing artistic norms of his era.
His painting style was unique, featuring figures with large heads and delicate facial details. He excelled in both full color and monochrome ink-wash techniques, blending Tosa and Kanō styles into something distinctly his own. One of his most famous works is the Rakuchū rakugai zu from the Funaki collection, a broad view of life in Kyoto that showcases his skill in capturing everyday scenes and human interactions across social levels.
There has been ongoing debate about Matabei's link to ukiyo-e. In Japan, he is sometimes seen as the founder of this art tradition, as his genre scenes resemble early ukiyo-e works. However, some scholars argue that Matabei primarily followed the Tosa tradition, appealing to upper-class clients, which contrasts with ukiyo-e’s more common and commercial nature. This confusion may be due to a mix-up with another figure named Ōtsu no Matabei, who shows up in the ukiyo-e context in plays by Chikamatsu Monzaemon. This debate is still open, and Matabei remains a pivotal figure between classical painting and the emerging popular art culture of the Edo period.
Matabei passed away in Edo on July 20, 1650. His son Katsushige, who died in 1673, continued his father's style, especially in paintings of dancing figures. Although Matabei mainly worked for elite patrons, his influence extends beyond, making him a complex and intriguing figure in Japanese art history.
Before Fame
Matabei was born into a time of great instability. His father, Araki Murashige, was a well-known daimyō who rebelled against Oda Nobunaga and was eventually forced to commit suicide, leaving Matabei without a father and samurai status. Raised with his mother's last name, Iwasa, Matabei grew up without the protections and privileges he might have otherwise had.
Despite these challenges, he received serious artistic training, studying under Kanō Naizen in the Kanō school. At that time, the Kanō school was the leading style in official Japanese painting, supported by the military government. However, Matabei was drawn to the older Tosa school, which had strong ties to traditional Japanese painting and classic literary illustration. This conflict between his formal training and his preferred style influenced the originality that would become a hallmark of his later work.
Key Achievements
- Created the Funaki version of Rakuchū rakugai zu, a major panoramic genre painting depicting life in and around Kyoto
- Developed a highly individual brush technique synthesizing Tosa and Kanō school elements into a distinctive personal style
- Received a prestigious commission from shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu for a series of portraits of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals in 1640
- Recognized in Japanese art history as a central, if debated, figure in the origins of the ukiyo-e tradition
- Established a painting lineage continued by his son Katsushige, extending his stylistic influence into the second half of the seventeenth century
Did You Know?
- 01.Matabei's father, Araki Murashige, rebelled against the warlord Oda Nobunaga in 1578—the same year Matabei was born—and was ultimately forced to commit suicide, leaving the infant to be raised under a different family name.
- 02.In 1640, Matabei signed a commissioned set of portraits of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals for a temple with the phrase 'the artist Matabei of the later current from Tosa Mitsunobu,' explicitly claiming artistic descent from the founder of the Tosa school.
- 03.The Funaki version of Rakuchū rakugai zu, one of the most detailed panoramic paintings of Kyoto street life from the period, is among the works attributed to Matabei.
- 04.A longstanding theory holds that Matabei's posthumous reputation as the father of ukiyo-e may be a case of mistaken identity, arising from confusion with a fictional ukiyo-e painter named Ōtsu no Matabei who appears in plays by Chikamatsu Monzaemon.
- 05.His son Katsushige, who died in 1673, continued painting in his father's distinctive style and was particularly recognized for his depictions of dancing figures.