The Kansai Bijutsuin was established in 1906 by a group of Meiji era artists led by Chu Asai. Privately founded in Kyoto, it is Japan’s oldest institute1 for western painting. In the 120 years since its inception, it has provided in depth instruction in drawing, oil painting, and western painting and has birthed such leading Japanese artists in the field of western painting as Sotaro Yasui, Ryuzaburo Umehara, and Kunitaro Suda.
Today, it welcomes everyone from beginners to aspiring professionals wanting to study the fundamentals of life drawing, cast drawing, and oil painting at its naturally lit north facing studio. Tradition handed down from generations of instructors is alive there.
The studio of Kansai Bijutsuin is bathed in steady natural light from the north throughout the day – creating the optimal environment for cast drawing and life drawing.
An “art school open to all studying painting”, everyone from beginning to aspiring professional painters, regardless of age or experience, is welcome.
Admission and membership are possible at any time. Anyone interested can study the fundamentals of drawing and oil painting in depth.
The building housing the Kansai Bijutsuin is a rare early work of the architect Goichi Takeda – the designer of the Kyoto City Hall and Kyoto Prefectural Library.
This historic building was registered as a “Tangible Cultural Asset” (Registration No. 36-0507) on November 29, 2016 and was selected as a “Building or Garden Beautifying Kyoto” on December 12, 2022.
Footnote
- Japan’s oldest on points of being “currently active”, “established privately”, and “never publicly funded” ↩︎