Suzuki Hyakunen 鈴木百年

鈴木百年 Suzuki Hyakunen (1828-1891)
Japanese painter active from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era. Founder of the Suzuki school. Born in Kyoto as the son of Suzuki Seikai 鈴木星海 (Zusyo 図書), a Confucian scholar, astronomer and diviner from Ako (Hyogo). From around the age of 10 he was a skilled artist, and when his father asked Hyakunen to copy diagrams of the earth and other objects needed for astronomy, he copied them skillfully. It is said that he learnt painting from Gantai and Kishi Renzan, with whom his father had been in contact because of his service to the Tsuchimikado family, but he was not formally introduced to the art, and was basically self-taught. He is also said to have learnt the colouring method by helping out at the Tosa family. In addition to poetry, he also liked to write Kyoka, and in his later years he wrote letters with Kyoka to many people.