臺南美術史

Kuwano Ryokiti, The Canal with a Marabutan, 1927, the 1st Taiten (Taiwan Art Exhibition)
Source: Catalogue of the 1st Taiten

The Canal with a Marabutan by Kuwano Ryokiti (years of birth and death unknown) was selected into the 1st Taiten (Taiwan Art Exhibition) in 1927. Judging from the building style, it can be inferred that the building in the distant background of the image was the Tainan Second Factory of the Great Japan Ice Co., Ltd (大日本製冰株式會社), which was located at the blind section of the Tainan Canal (the area around today’s Huanhe Road). Additionally, Kuwano lived at “5-37, Seimoncho, Tainan City,” which was not far from the Tainan Canal. So, the painter might have painted this work near his residence. The overall brushwork of this painting was rather thick and heavy. The marabutan, which is somehow out of proportion, divides the image into two parts – the land view and the water view. The left part features a rural scenery with peasants and strollers, whereas the right part shows a cluster of buildings, forming a vivid contrast between the countryside and the city.

References
Lee, Shu-Pei. “A Study of Landscapes of Tainan in the Catalogues of the Taiten and the Futen during the Period of Japanese Rule.” The 2022 NCAF Visual Arts Grant for Study and Research – 2nd Phase, 2023.
Taiwan Nihonga (Japanese-style Painting) Association. Catalogue of the 1st Taiten. Taipei: Taiwan Nihonga Association, 1928.
Liu, Chi-Yu. The Canal with a Marabutan. Missing Pieces – Taifuten Historical Archives. https://taifuten.com/oblect/有榕樹的運河/#squelch-taas-toggle-shortcode-content-2 (viewed on 2024.1.22)