On the 15th of October,1815 Soun Tazaki was born in the premises
of the Ashikaga clan in Ogawacho, Kanda Tokyo.
From his childhood he learned the rudiments of painting from Ushu
Kanai, one of his relatives.
When he was 20 years old, he gave up his career as a clan-man. After
that he took art lessons from Buncho Tani and Kazan Watanabe. In 1854 when
he was 39 years old he became the retained painter of the Ashikaga clan.
At the same time he strengthened his ties as a royalist by deepening
the connection with the royalists.
In the period of Meiji Restoration and the last years of the Edo
Shogunate, he organized the militia corps to quell a riot and save Ashikaga
from the war.
In 1878 he built Hakusekisanbo in Rendaiji temple which is
now Ashikaga Park.
There he painted a wide rage of pieces such as landscapes,
flowers and butterflies and people.
His works are highly evaluated in Japan and abroad as well
and he received many awards.
In 1890 with Kunio Hashimotoand other artists he was selected
as an Imperial Court Artist, the most honored position for artists.
In 1898 he died very quietly at the age of 84. |
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