Yōga

In 1876 the Technical Fine Arts School opened as part of the Imperial College of Engineering, and the Italian painter Antonio Fontanesi was hired to teach painting. He stayed two years, and his students included early yōga painters such as Asai Chū and Koyama Shōtarō. The school closed in 1883; the Tokyo Fine Arts School, which opened in 1889, at first taught only nihonga and no Western painting. After the Meiji Restoration many Japanese went to Europe to learn Western culture, and yōga painters such as Kuroda Seiki, Fujishima Takeji, Yasui Sōtarō, and Foujita Tsuguharu all painted there.

Notice how the painter uses light and dark color to show light falling on things.

Does the scene or the sitter look as if it is in Japan, or in Europe?

• Nihonga 日本画→The name nihonga arose to set it apart from yōga.