Sugawara Bairi
1938 (Shōwa 13)
Donated by Watanabe Riemon
Sugawara Bairi (1874-1952) was the child of Sugawara Ichirō Uemon, a family of long lineage in Kigawa Village, Tagawa District (which was later Niibori Village in Higashitawa District, and is now part of Sakata City). His given name was Heisuke. While he started off as a railroad worker, his ambition to work in the arts led him to studying under the Yonezawa-originating painter Gejō Keikoku. He learned the styles of both the southern and northern schools of painting, and created most of his ink wash paintings in a style called “Nabokugahha” (southern and northern combined style), specializing in landscapes and Buddhist imagery. He submitted numerous works to the Japan Art Association Exhibition, and was active in Sakata in his later years.