Harada Naojiro

JAPAN, Tokyo; Meiji period

Harada Naojiro was a painter who was born in Koishikawa, Edo (present day Tokyo). Due to his father’s time spent in Europe and open-mindedness, Harada was raised with a western influence. He studied French at the Kaisei School in Osaka, and later at the Tokyo Foreign Language School, where he graduated in 1881. Harada began painting at age 11 and originally studied under Yamaoka Masaaki, but later learned western-style painting techniques from Takahashi Yuichi. To further pursue his study of western-style painting, Harada went to Germany when he was 21 and was consequently influenced by the style of Romanticism.
Upon Harada’s return to Japan in 1887, he established the Hyobikan art school. He then founded the Meiji Fine Arts Society alongside several of his close friends. In subsequent years, he participated in the World Expo in Chicago, USA, and the Third Kangyo Exhibition in Japan.
Several oil paintings by Harada exist still today. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Riding a Dragon was rendered in the style of European religious paintings and is now kept at Gokokuji Temple in Tokyo. An Old Man at a Shoe Store is kept at the University Art Museum at Tokyo University of the Arts. Both paintings are listed as Important Cultural Properties of Japan. Other paintings by Harada include Young German Lady and View of the Seaside, among many others.