Nobuo Tsuji - Lineage of Eccentrics: Matabei to Kuniyoshi (English)

Published by Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., 2012
Hardcover with dust-jacket, 215 pages
3.9 x 2.8cm | 10 x 7in 
Text in English, originally published in Japanese in 1970

About Nobuo Tsuji:
Nobuo Tsuji is a premier authority on Japanese aesthetics, having studied the topic for nearly a half century. His unique perspective has helped illuminate previously unstudied elements in the Japanese aesthetic tradition, including playfulness, eccentric expression, the decorative, and animism. Kiso no keifu: Matabei-Kuniyoshi (Lineage of Eccentrics: Matabei to Kuniyoshi), published in 1970 by Bijutsu Shuppansha, offered a reappraisal of the artistic practices of Iwasa Matabei, Kano Sansetsu, Ito Jakuchu, Soga Shohaku, Nagasawa Rosetsu, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, artists who had been considered peripheral to Japanese art history up to that point. By focusing on these artists, Tsuji was able to revive present day interest in their work and spirit. In addition to his scholarly writings, Tsuji has also left a significant mark on the education and development of Japan's art community through his work as an art university chancellor and museum director.