About Oukoku Bunko in Kyoto Follow Me on Pinterest


We will open on every  Friday, Saturday, Sunday  and National Holiday from October  28th to December  3rd in  2017.


Oukoku  Bunko  in  Kyoto  consists  of  three  structures  of  Registered  Tangible  Cultural  Properties  and  categorized  as  Japanese  style  painting  artist  Oukoku  KONOSHIMA's  Japanese  style  former  residence,  western  style  gallery  and  repository  and  Japanese   style  huge  atelier.  These  strucures  were  constructed  in  1913.  Oukoku  Bunko  Library  stores  many  calligraphic  works  and  paintings  as  well  as  books  written  on  Confucianism  collected  by  Oukoku  and  Oukoku's  Japanese  style  painting    works,  drawing  sketched  and  created  for  practice.
Oukoku's  former  residence  constructed  in  1913

western  style  gallery  and  repository

huge  atelier

Oukoku's  Masterpiece  "Tsurugi-no-Mai"
                                                                              created  in  1901

Oukoku's  Masterpiece  "Kyochu-no-Aki"
                                                                              created  in  1933

Oukoku  KONOSHIMA  was  born  in  Kyoto  in  1877.  Entered  private  school  of  painting  organized  by  Keinen  IMAO  and  at  the  same  time  started  studying  herbalism  and  Neo-Confucianism  under  Keigu  YAMAMOTO  at  the  age  of  16.  Since  it  was  a  common  belief  among  Kyoto  modern  Japanese  style  painters  at  that  time  that  receiving  an  award  at  an  exhibition  sponsored  by  the  government  was  the  starting  point  of  a  painter's  career,  Oukoku  entered  his  works  in  the  exhibition  sponsored  by  the  Ministry  of  Education  while  he  was  still  young  and  almost  of  all  of  them  won  awards  every  year.
Oukoku  KONOSHIMA  born  in  1877

Oukoku's  master  of  painting,  Keinen  IMAO  was  Japanese  style  painting  artist  of  Maruyama- Shijo  School.  Maruyama-Shijo  School  is  a  name  collectively  referring  to  Maruyama  School  founded  by  Okyo  MARUYAMA  and  Shijo  School  founded  by    Goshun  MATSUMURA,  which  became  famous  in  Kyoto  from  the  late  Edo  Period.  The  school  which   had  Okyo  as  its  founder  was  called  the  Maruyama-Shijo  school,    and  has  become  a  source  of  Kyoto  art  circles,  which  are  in  the  line  age  of  this    school.

Since  Goshun  MATSUMURA,  the  founder  of  Shijo  School,  was  influenced  in  his    painting  style  by  the  sketch  style  of  Okyo  MARUYAMA,  the  founder  of  Maruyama    School,  these  two  schools  were  later  combined  in  name  to  be  collectively  called  as  "Maruyama-Shijo  School".

It  is  also  a  fact  that  many  Japanese  painters  after  the  early  years  of  the  modern    age  were  influenced  by  the  Kanoha  group  and  started  with  the  influence  of  the    Kanoha  group;  initially,  Korin  OGATA,  of  the  Rinpa  group,  and  Okyo  MARUYAMA  of  the  Shasei-ha  group   had  learned  from  the  Kanoha  group.




Oukoku  Bunko's  Present  Address:  56  Higashi-machi, Tojiin,  Kita-Ward,  Kyoto,  603-8343  Japan

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Open  to  the  public  on  every  Friday,  Saturday,  Sunday  and  Public  Holiday  from  March  5   to  April  3  in  2016.  Hours  are  from  10am  to  4pm.