Sibata Zeshin

1807～1891
He was a painter and “Makieshi” (蒔絵師: a gold or silver lacquer master ). He was apprenticed to Kansai Koma (古満寛哉) when he was 11. Then he studied painting under Nenrei Suzuki (鈴木南嶺) to acquire the skill of design when he was at 16. Also, he went to Kyoto and studied under Toyohiko Okamoto (岡本豊彦) when he was at 24. He resuscitated various old technique of lacquer. In 1890, he was appointed to “Teishitsu-gigeiin” (帝室技芸員: Imperial are expert).