Japanese painter kawago Xiaozhai (1831-1889), who experienced the shogunate and Meiji period, is considered to be the last master of traditional Japanese painting. The humor, vitality and imagination in his works still affect many artistic styles such as comics. Traditional Japanese painting has been deeply influenced by Chinese calligraphy and painting.

Under the fame of Beizhai and Guangzhong, Heguo Xiaozhai is often ignored. Surging news learned that from March 19, the Royal Academy of Art (RA) in London launched the “Heguo Xiaozhai Exhibition”. He first studied with the ukiyo painter Kagawa Guofang, and then after the training of the hunting wild school, he created a terrible, respectable, lovely and ironic image. Especially when Monet and other Impressionist painters learned from the East, Heguo Xiaozhai at the same time turned to the West.

Heguo Xiaozhai et al., shogakai, about may 1876 - spring 1878

In 1870, kawago Xiaozhai went into a prison in Tokyo after enjoying a noisy night. Unlike most people who end their nights in prison, his fault is not drinking, fighting or stealing, but painting a picture. To be sure, he guoxiaozhai was drunk. That night, he participated in a “calligrapher and painter’s meeting”. The participants drank and painted. As for what was painted, he himself was broken.

The exact charges against Heguo Xiaozhai are still a mystery, but there are rumors that his painting that night humiliated predatory Westerners, which is said to be “insulting important people with vivid metaphors”. He was arrested on the spot because of the incident in public.

The subsequent disaster of imprisonment hurt his body but not his reputation. At that time, images were an important means to convey views. Painters used their brushes to arouse public awareness. Kawago Xiaozhai is one of them. He is a groundbreaking painter. His humorous painting style and skilled techniques make him a representative of the transformation period of modern Japanese society. His works also have the meaning of chronicle.

He is proficient in various styles and has created a large number of works. As a teacher, he is open-minded and has a wide range of friends, which also ensures that his works are retained as completely as possible. The exhibition of the Royal Academy of art “Heguo Xiaozhai Exhibition” is the private collection of art merchant Israel Goldman. His collection involves different times and categories. He is one of the important collectors of Heguo Xiaozhai and ukiyo painting.

Heguo Xiaozhai, Zhong Kui and two little ghosts, 1882

Born in 1831, he lived in a time when there may be only three places worth paying attention to in Japan: Kyoto, Osaka and Edo (now Tokyo). The shrines and temples in Kyoto confirm the millennium cultural heritage; Osaka and Edo benefited from the relative peace and prosperity of the previous 200 years. In the early 17th century, Tokugawa opened the shogunate and became the de facto ruler of the country. In the shogunate era, the lock-in policy was implemented, the warrior class in the country was above the farmers and craftsmen, and the merchants were at the bottom of the society.

By the 1830s, the original social strata had disintegrated. The declining warrior class sold their swords, armor, and even Samurai identity. Heguo Xiaozhai’s father was one of the beneficiaries. As the son of a rice merchant, he became the squire of the shogunate warriors after being adopted by the samurai family.

When Heguo Xiaozhai was one year old, the whole family moved to Edo. Soon, the boy showed his artistic potential. He entered Kagawa Guofang’s studio at the age of six. At this time, Guofang was making ukiyo prints. The samurai from Chinese and Japanese culture and the supernatural ghost world in the paintings left a deep impression on the young Heguo Xiaozhai. Guofang also taught him a series of experience in observing nature and suggested not only to pursue direct expression, but to capture “spiritual power”.

Heguo Xiaozhai, beauty in front of the mirror (part), 1871-1889

But only two years later, Heguo Xiaozhai left. The reason may be that his father was dissatisfied with Guofang’s eccentric style and his relationship with the shogunate. However, Xiaozhai still loves painting. He even picks up the broken head found in the river and takes it home to sketch. To this end, his parents sent him to Qiancun cave and under the door of the more respected Shouye painter, and Qiancun cave and won him the number of trainees in baizaishutai branch of Shouye cave.

After two years of preparation (assisting in the preparation of painting materials), Heguo Xiaozhai began to systematically study traditional Chinese and Japanese paintings, including repeated copying of Buddhist figures and other classic works. In his spare time, Heguo Xiaozhai also went to experience the life of Edo citizens, including drinking, whispering, brothels, raving and so on.

In 1849, he Guoxiao Zhai finished his studies and was accepted as an adopted son by Pingshan Dongshan, a painter of the autumn Yuan Dynasty. This means that he will inherit this title in the future. But this is not the case. In 1852, Xiaozhai broke off the relationship with Pingshan family in rumors. A few years later, he began his career as an independent artist.

Heguo Xiaozhai, fart War (partial), January 1881

Heguo Xiaozhai was not the only one who took this road. In the two centuries before Heguo Xiaozhai was born, the Edo shogunate had been closed to the country. But since then, he has witnessed the “black boat incident” in 1853, the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate era in 1867, the legalization of Christianity in Japan, and the emergence of Railways and telegrams… Japan has been unable to return to the calm of the past.

Heguo Xiaozhai, elephants from India, 1863

It was in this hot era that Heguo Xiaozhai got married and had his first child. He created the artistic name “Crazy” (KY) for himself ō Sai, meaning “room” of “Parody”, and created “crazy painting” (KY) ō GA, caricature).

Japan’s strict hierarchy provides an irresistible theme for satirical cartoons, which is also an adventure. As a result, many Japanese writers and painters in this period became masters of fables. From folklore to the animal world, they used everything in the world to make fun of those in power, while maintaining a seemingly reasonable safety limit, which reminds people of the ancient Japanese bird and animal painting volume.

Heguo Xiaozhai, frog school, early 1870s

Frog War (1864) is one of the earliest works of this kind by Xiaozhai Heguo. In the painting, frogs armed with water guns and reed spears clashed by the pool. Readers at that time can understand from the different heraldry in the painting that he metaphorized the clan alliance with Tokugawa