Makino Katsuji (1864–1942) was a Kyoto painter and designer who helped shape the early development of Western-style art in Japan. Trained in both Japanese and Western painting, he became a professor at the Kyoto Higher School of Arts and Crafts, where he taught design and mentored younger artists. His career reflects Japan’s rapid modernization and its growing cultural exchange with the world.

Teaching in New York

In 1906, at the age of 42, Makino accepted an invitation to teach watercolor painting at the New York School of Art, then located at Broadway and 80th Street. This position placed him at the center of New York’s art world at a time when Japanese culture fascinated many Americans. While in New York, he not only continued his own study of Western painting but also introduced Japanese artistic traditions to his students. His presence as a Japanese professor at a leading American art school was a remarkable achievement for its time.

Designing Shōfūden

Two years later, in 1908, when he was 43, Makino took on a major design project: the Shōfūden (Pine-Maple Hall) in Merrywood Park, New York State. The building had an unusual history. It began as the Phoenix Pavilion (Hōōden), Japan’s main exhibition hall at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. After the fair, Dr. Takamine Jōkichi—an influential Japanese chemist and businessman living in New York—purchased the pavilion and moved it to Merrywood Park as a symbol of U.S.–Japan friendship.

Makino was entrusted with creating the interior design and garden layout. He filled the space with Kyoto-style artistry: painted sliding doors, carved transoms, and patterned ceilings that echoed the elegance of Japan’s classical Heian period. In doing so, he transformed the former fair pavilion into a cultural landmark that showcased Japanese tradition within an American setting.

A Life Between Two Worlds

Makino’s New York years were not only a personal milestone but also part of a larger story. At a time when Japanese immigration was facing new restrictions in the United States and economic hardships were affecting many in Japan, his work embodied a different vision: one of cultural exchange, respect, and artistry across borders.

Archival traces show that he remained connected to American art circles. His name appears in the Charles Lang Freer Papers at the Smithsonian, evidence of correspondence with one of America’s leading collectors of Asian art. These links highlight how Makino continued to move between two artistic worlds, drawing from both Kyoto’s traditions and New York’s modern energy.

Legacy

Back in Japan, Makino’s contributions as an educator and artist continued to influence younger generations. Today, his designs and paintings are preserved in Japanese museum collections, and exhibitions such as the 2022 show at the Kyoto Institute of Technology Museum and Archives have reexamined his role in bringing Japanese and Western art together.

Makino Katsuji’s time in New York shows how one Kyoto artist, at midlife, became a bridge between cultures. As a teacher, designer, and painter, he demonstrated the power of art to cross oceans and create lasting connections.

References (selected)

• Kyoto Institute of Technology Museum and Archives. Makino Katsuji and Shimotori Yukihiko—The Various Faces of Western-style Painting. Exhibition, February 21–April 23, 2022. Kyoto: Kyoto Institute of Technology, 2022. https://www.museum.kit.ac.jp/20220221m.html.

• Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art. “Makino Katsuji, Fallen Leaves (1903).” 100 Selections from the Collection.  https://kyotocity-kyocera.museum/100_selections/069.

• Smithsonian Institution. Charles Lang Freer Papers, 1876–1919. Washington, DC: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Archives. Folder: “Makino, Katsuji, 1913.” https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/FSA.A.01.pdf.

• Digital Museum of the History of Japanese in New York. “Shōfūden: Pine-Maple Hall in Forestburgh, NY.”  https://www.historyofjapaneseinny.org/jp/artifacts/shofuden-pine-maple-hall-in-forestburgh-ny/.