Matsumura Keibun


Matsumura Keibun was a Japanese painter.

Life and work

He was half-brother to Matsumura Goshun, founder of the Shijō school, and received his first art lessons from him. He exhibited his works as early as 1796, under the auspices of, a showing which included calligraphy. By 1813, he was listed in a directory of Kyōto's most notable citizens.
In 1818, for the seventh anniversary of his half-brother's death, he staged an exhibition of his works. In 1829, he painted a group of birds on the ceiling inside of the "Naginata-Hoko", one of the floats for the Gion Matsuri, which is still in use today.
In 1830, he published an illustrated book; "Go Keibun gafu", which was a significant contribution to establishing Goshun's style. He also served as Chief Priest at the, a Tendai temple in Kyōto which was usually assigned to an Imperial prince. After his death, he was initially interred at the, an Ōtani-ha temple, but was later moved to the Konpuku-ji, a more prestigious Zen temple.
His style is similar to Goshun's, but somewhat lighter and what, in Western art, would be called manneristic. His best known works are a set of fusumas in Myōhō–ji, a Nichiren temple, which are called Shiki kōsaku-zu.