Matsumoto Hōji (松本 奉時, date of birth unknownSeptember 30, 1800蒹葭堂日記 寛政12年8月12日 「松本周介 喪アリ」, Osaka), also known as Shusuke (周助/周介) and Hōji Dojin (奉時道人), was a mid-Edo period painter and picture framer. He was particularly fond of and skilled at ink-wash zenga paintings, especially those of Japanese toads.
Life He was active in Tenmei (1781–1788) and Kansei (1789–1801) eras. He hailed from Osaka, living in neighborhood.
He was a picture framer by profession, but also worked as an artist. He studied the landscape painting style of Yosa Buson.
He loved frogs, and was not satisfied with just raising and breeding them. He collected various frog-related items and often painted frogs. This passion was recorded in the "Kien Bunshu" by Kien Minagawa.
He had interactions with other artists of his time, and was close friends with Itō Jakuchū, who was active in the mid-Edo period. He even visited , where Jakuchū lived in retirement in his later years読売新聞, 2018-12-19, and there are also works that were influenced by Jakuchū. His other friends included Kimura Kenkadō and .
There are several ink paintings of the same composition as the Toad, a representative work of Hōji, which are painted with large, dynamic brushstrokes. Many of these works are accompanied by inscriptions (san) by the Osaka poet and it is believed the combination of Kansai’s poetry/inscriptions with Hōji’s painting was especially popular.大阪歴史博物館、熊本県立美術館、NHKプラネット近畿「猿絵描き狙仙三兄弟－鶏の若冲、カエルの奉時も」展図録 2020年 P.168
Hōji considered a dream of a dragon he had during the 6 year of Tenmei era (1786) to be a good omen, and from then on he actively began collecting calligraphy and paintings. He compiled the works he collected into art albums such as "Hōji Seiganjo" (奉時清玩帖) and treasured them as he asked the leading calligraphers, painters, and writers of the time to write their own works. In “Various Famous Masters’ Cooperation (by Matsumoto Hōji)" (諸名家合作(松本奉時に依る)), in addition to Jakuchū, there are contributions from a splendid lineup of artists from Kyoto and Osaka, such as Jiun Onkō, , Nakai Chikuzan, , , , , , , , , Mori Sosen, Kimura Kenkadō, , Nagasawa Rosetsu, , , Matsumura Goshun. On one album page Kimura Kenkadō drew "monkeys in bamboo" (竹に猿) with a brush, and the lower-left is stamped with Hōji’s own collector’s seal.中谷伸生 講演記録 関西大学創立120周年記念講演会「大阪画壇の絵画」関西大学図書館フォーラム第12号(2007年)
Works Toad Painting/Frog Painting (Gama-zu – 蝦蟇図／蛙図) – multiple versions exist. White Elephant Painting (Byakuzō-zu = 白象図) – inscribed in the painting that it follows the style of Ito Jakuchū, in private collection. Daikokuten Painting (Daikokuten-zu - 大黒天図) – in the collection of temple. Frog Album (蛙画帖) – by Matsumoto Hōji. Meika Gafu (名画画譜) – compiled by , with contributions by Matsumoto Hōji and others.
Albums Hōji Seigan-chō (奉時清玩帖) Various Famous Masters’ Cooperation (by Matsumoto Hōji) (諸名家合作（松本奉時に依る）) - dated Kansei 8–10 (1796–1798)
Sources 中谷伸生, Lecture record: Kansai University 120th Anniversary Commemorative Lecture Paintings from the Osaka Art World (関西大学創立120周年記念講演会「大阪画壇の絵画」), Kansai University Library Forum No. 12, 2007 Osaka Museum of History, Frog-painting Artist Matsumoto Hōji and the Early Modern Osaka Painting Circle(かえるの絵描・松本奉持と近世大阪画壇), 49th Special Exhibition, October 2007 Kimura Kenkadō, Wazosho Kanbon Kenkadō Nikki (和図書 完本蒹葭堂日記), Geika Shoin (藝華書院), May 2009. Osaka History Museum, Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, NHK Planet Kinki. Exhibition catalogue: Animal Picture-Painters: The Sosen Three Brothers — Chicken Jakuchū, Frog Hōji , Japan and Europe: Strange, Cute, Rebellious — Animal Pictures (日本とヨーロッパ ふしぎ・かわいい・へそまがり 動物の絵). Kodansha 2021.
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