Who is Kuroda Seiki? Google Doodle celebrates Japanese painter

Kuroda Seiki was a Japanese painter and teacher who was well-known for introducing Western art theory and practice to a broad Japanese audience.

Kuroda Seiki was born on August 9, 1866, in Takamibaba, Satsuma Domain, which is present-day Kagoshima Prefecture.

Kuroda founded Tenshin Dojo, a Western painting school, as well as pleinairism, an art-historical term used to describe painting outdoors and capturing nature.

Kuroda’s greatest contribution to Japanese culture was the wider acceptance of Western-style painting that he fostered among the Japanese public.

Despite their reservations, he was able to persuade them of the validity of Western-style art theories and practices.

This, along with the honours bestowed upon him later in his life, indicates a broader understanding of the importance of yoga in Japanese culture among the Japanese people and their government.

Today’s Google Doodle commemorates the 156th birthday of  Kuroda Seiki. He was most influential in Japan during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and he is still regarded as one of the country’s most important artists.