Nagai Ikka 長井一禾

長井一禾 Nagai Ikka (1869-1940)
Ukiyo-e artist from the Meiji to Showa periods. A student of 河鍋暁斎 Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889). Born in Niigata. Studied under 鈴木松年 Suzuki Shonen (1848-1918) and 平福穂庵 Hirafuku Suian (1844-1890) in Tokyo and learned the Maruyama school of painting. He later studied under Kawanabe Kyosai. 大隈重信 Okuma Shigenobu (1838-1922), the prime minister of Japan, awarded Ikka the title of "Dr. Crow" in recognition of his extraordinary and unusual technique of raven painting. He studied painting in the U.S. for five years from 1903. He exhibited his paintings at the Portland Exposition and the Italian Exposition. His crow paintings were highly praised at the time along with the raccoon paintings of 望月金鳳 Mochizuki Kinpo (1846-1915) and the tiger paintings of 大橋翠石 Ohashi Suiseki (1865-1945).