Ikeda Kametarō
Year unknown
Donated by Nakamura Keiko
Ikeda Kametarō (1862～1925) was born in Sakata Hamamachi (the environs of modern Aioicho, Sakata City). Ikeda first encountered Western-style painting in 1884 (Meiji 17), when Takahashi Yuichi, an artist who produced such art, visited Sakata. Takahashi advised Ikeda that “if you want to become a painter, first learn photography.” Subsequently, he moved to the capital of Tōkyō, studying photography. When he returned from the capital, he established the Ikeda Photography Studio in Sakata. While working as a photographer, he used the skills he had developed from his photography to produce realistic Western paintings, as well as a number of portraits on silk fabric.