Hattori Gorō
1909 (Meiji 42)
Hattori Gorō (1869/71-1930) was born in Tsuruoka. He was the child of former Shōnai domanial samurai Hattori Taisaku. His real names were Buntarō and Yasuyuki. He counted the author Matsudaira Bokudō among his cousins, and his son was the Nanga-style painter Hattori Niryū. Gorō left for Kyōto, where he studied Nanga painting under Tanomura Chokunyū, a leading figure in the art style. Tanomura recognized Gorō’s artistic talent, and he became the former’s star pupil. His work was put on display by the Japan Art Association Exhibition, the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition (Bunten at the time), and the Japan Nanga-in Exhibition. Subsequently, he became a member of the Japan Nanga-in association, accomplishing being selected in three Japan Fine Arts Exhibitions, and began to be mentioned alongside the likes of the luminaries of the Kyōto art world like Hashimoto Kansetsu and Takeuchi Seihō. Although he was well-regarded for his skill with ink wash painting, in his later years his personal life became chaotic, and he lost his personal fortune.