Chigusa Kitani

Chigusa Kitani (木谷 千種) was a Japanese Nihonga (日本画) painter and painting teacher in Taishō and Shōwa Japan.

Life
Born Chigusa Kitani at Kita-ku, Osaka Dōjima (ja:堂島), the center of the Osaka (the second largest metropolitan area in Japan), in 1895 under the name Ei Yoshioka (吉岡 英). While studying at Shimizudani Girls' High School, She studied Bird-and-flower painting under Chokujō Fukada (ja:深田直城) who is a famous painter of the Shijō school (四条派). She moved to Tokyo in 1913 (Taishō 2) to study under Shōen Ikeda (ja:池田蕉園). After returning to Osaka, She became a pupil of Tsunetomi Kitano (ja:北野恒富) and Kyuho Noda (ja:野田九浦). Kitano is famous painter who draws (Bijin-ga (美人画) . In 1919, She started studying under Keigetsu Kikuchi (ja:菊池契月) in Kyoto.

She trained in Seattle, Washington, in the United States for two years from the age of 13, and her work was exhibited throughout Japan. In 1920, she married Hōgin Kitani, a researcher on Chikamatsu Monzaemon (dramatist of jōruri). In the same year, she established a painting school Yachigusa-kai (八千草会) and Chigusa-kai (千種会) at her home in Osaka. She aimed to nurture, instruct and improve the status of female painters. She died in 1947 (Shōwa 22) in the Minamikawachi of Osaka at the age of 51.

Works
In 1915, Chigusa Kitani was 20years old, was selected for the first Osaka Fine Arts Exhibition (大阪美術展覧会) as Shin-kyo (新居) and for the 9th Ministry of Education Art Fine Arts Exhibition (文部省美術展覧会 (文展, Bunten)) as Hari-Kuyō (針供養).This Hari-Kuyō is a work depicting a Geisha girl in Kyoto.

She showed her works at the exhibitions such as Imperial Fine Arts Academy Exhibition (帝国美術院展覧会 (帝展, Teiten)), Kikuchijuku-ten (菊池塾展) and Yachigusakai-ten (Yachigusakai's Exhibition).