Katei studied in Tokyo (then called Edo) and spent more than 10 years travelling around northern Japan before returning to Tokyo in 1866. There he established himself as a fashionable artist. In 1893 he was awarded the accolade of Imperial Household Artist.

This pair of silk scroll paintings illustrates common themes in his work. One shows a close-up view of a lotus pond, with three blooms at different stages of growth. The other shows stalks of bamboo, with mist drifting above. The scrolls may have formed part of a group, possibly as part of a screen.

National Museums Scotland has a growing collection of Japanese scroll paintings, and these examples of Katei’s flower studies now join them there.

Provenance

Purchased by the vendor from a private collection in Kyoto, Japan in 2009.