Chūsaku Ōyama (1922–2009) was a Japanese-style painter born in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture. He studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and, after the war, was particularly active in the Nitten exhibition. Although he painted a wide range of subjects, including figures, flowers and birds, and landscapes, he is particularly renowned for his works inspired by traditional Japanese performing arts such as Noh and Kabuki. Building upon a foundation of realism, he elegantly captured the expressions and costumes of his subjects, as well as the atmosphere of the stage, creating compositions that are both profound and refined. In 2006, he was awarded the Order of Culture.

Ōyama Chūsaku’s works possess a sure-handed ability to capture his subjects through meticulous observation, coupled with a quiet strength that seeks to express the spirituality lying beneath the surface. In his figure paintings, it is the tension evident in the subjects’ gazes and postures—rather than their lavish costumes—that leaves a lasting impression. To me, the unique charm of Ōyama Chūsaku lies in the way he takes the accurate depiction of visible forms as his starting point, whilst layering upon this the presence of the figures and the profound resonance of Japanese culture.