Hello friends! I was doing a deep dive on Gyoshu Hayami and was, again, rather impressed by some of his work (as I mentioned previously), which of course is quite graceful in terms of style and composition. However, technique-wise, he seems to have been on another level. Whereas some artists who worked with gold, like Gustav Klimt, did so with gold leaf foil, Gyoshu took it a step further and actually ground the gold leaf into a powder which he then sprinkled onto the work, generally “painted” with glue over washi paper. Thus, the naturally magnanimous, sublime Byzantine glitter of golden foil is, in Gyoshu’s Camellia Petals Scattering, for instance, subdued into what should be an incredibly natural shimmering light.
For context, here’s Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I:
What is striking about both works is how much they seem to convey the same sense of sublimeness, albeit at different ends of the spectrum.
However, Gyoshu also experimented with a “punchier” gold texture, as in this exquisite rendition of a branch of plum blossoms:
Perhaps in White Plum Blossoms he had yet to invent the makitoubushi technique, which was inspired by his studies of makie-e, or lacquer decoration. However, the stronger golden foil here contrasts vividly against the delicate blossoms, emphasizing their elegant nature.
If you’d like to learn more about this fascinating artist, who died tragically young at the age of 40, I encourage you to check out these sites:
- artelino, “Japanese Artists – Artist Biography – Gyoshu Hayami,” accessed on July 2, 2026 from https://www.artelino.com/forum/japanese_artists_show.asp?art=173
- artnet, “Gyoshu Hayami,” accessed on July 2, 2026 from https://www.artnet.com/artists/gyoshu-hayami/
- Public Relations Office, Government of Japan. “Hayami Gyoshu’s Artistry in Gold,” accessed on July 2, 2026, from https://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/html/202303/202303_03_en.html
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