About the artist
Shuho Yamakawa was a nihonga painter and woodblock print artist. Born in Kyoto as Yoshio Yamakawa, Shuho’s father worked as a fabric designer. Shuho began his career as a painter of kacho-ga, or “bird and flower pictures,” under the tutelage of Shuho Ikegami. He later joined the workshop of Kiyokata Kaburagi, where both Kotondo and Shinsui also studied, and shifted his focus to bijin-ga, or “pictures of beautiful women.” A selection of his bijin-ga can be found in series such as Fujo Yondai (Four Subjects of Women, 1927-28). Shuho Yamakawa’s paintings earned national acclaim at the ninth and eleventh Teiten exhibitions. While principally a nihonga painter, he completed woodblock print designs with both Watanabe and Bijutsu-sha.