A term used to group a number of artists and artistic styles associated with the city of Nagasaki 長崎 from the 17th through 19th century. During this period, Nagasaki was the only port town in Japan open to foreigners for trade and residence. Consequently, Nagasaki paintings and prints, while varied in style and theme, always reflected in some way the influence of Dutch and Chinese art, which arrived by way of merchant vessels. Within the general term Nagasaki-ha, there are a number of distinct categories:
1 Woodblock prints, created for the domestic tourist trade, which were designed to satisfy the curiosity of Japanese visitors regarding the mysterious and generally unseen foreigners. See *nagasaki hanga 長崎版画.
2 Paintings created by the official government appraisers of foreign art. See *kara-e mekiki 唐絵目利.
3 Bird-and-flower painting inspired by the Chinese artist Shen Nampin (Jp: Shin Nanpin 沈南蘋; approximate dates 1682-ca.1780). See *Nanpin-ha 南蘋派.
4 Works of individualists who experimented with Western techniques and perspective. Wakasugi Isohachi 若杉五十八 (1759-1805), for example, pioneered studies of European techniques such as oil painting. Kawahara Keiga 川原慶賀 (1786-1860?) was an important assimilator of Western style. Araki Jogen 荒木如元 (ca. 1773-1824) is also considered to be in this group despite his affiliation with the kara-e mekiki.
5 Portraits of Ōbaku 黄檗 monks, daimyō 大名, warriors, and Chinese interpreters painted in the Ming portrait style by professional artists such as Kita Genki 喜多元規 (fl. 1664-98). See *ōbakuga 黄檗画.
6 Calligraphy, Ming figure painting and literati ink painting which was introduced by Ōbaku 黄檗 monks such as Itsunen 逸然 (Ch: Yiran; 1601-68). This group is often called kanga-ha 漢画派. See *ōbakuga 黄檗画.
7 *nanga 南画 or literati painting in the Southern Chinese style, which was introduced by visiting Chinese such as I Fukyū 伊孚九 (Ch: Yi Fujiu or Yi Hai; 1698- after 1747), who made a series of journeys to Nagasaki from 1720-47. Other visitors were Hi Kangen 費漢源 (Ch: Fei Hanyuan), Hō Seiko 方西湖 (Ch: Fang Xihu), and Kō Kaho 江稼圃 (Ch: Jiang Jiapu). Kō arrived in Nagasaki in 1804 and instructed the Japanese painters Hidaka Tetsuō 日高鉄翁 (1791-1871), Kinoshita Itsuun 木下逸雲 (1799-1866) and Miura Gomon 三浦梧門 (1809-60). Many Nagasaki painters adopted characteristics of some or all of these styles, the result of studying at a variety of schools. In addition, the influence of these various Nagasaki painters spread widely throughout Japan. Gion Nankai 祇園南海 (1677-1751) was influenced by the Ōbaku 黄檗 (Ch: Huang Bo) monks and Yanagisawa Kien 柳沢淇園 (1706-58) was one of many painters who were introduced to the art of the Nanpin school. Major artists such as Maruyama Ōkyo 円山応挙 (1733-95), Shiba Kōkan 司馬江漢 (1747-1818) and Tani Bunchō 谷文晁 (1763-1840) were also affected by the various streams of painting, both Chinese and Western, which flowed out of Nagasaki. The list of artists and craftsmen who, directly or indirectly, were affected by the Nagasaki painters is long, but the importance of this influence ended after Japan opened to the West. In the mid-19th century, increased contact with foreigners through new port cities such as Yokohama 横浜 resulted in a fading of the mystique of the foreigner and access to foreign knowledge and techniques in general was greatly increased. With these developments, Nagasaki declined in importance as a route through which the Japanese could learn about foreign art.