Nakagawa was born in Hongo, Tokyo. He began painting by being fascinated by the paintings of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne, which he discovered while reading an edition of “Shirakaba”, a literary magazine.

When he was 21 years old, his first work Sakagura was accepted for the 14th Tatsumigakai Exhibition in 1914. A year later, he won second prize at the Exhibition and this encouraged him to make a career as an oil painter.
He joined the artist association Shunyokai organized by Ryusei Kishida, and became the key person who leading the Japanese art world after the war.

In 1949, he built a studio in Manazuru, Kanagawa, and had spent the next 20 years painting in his later years. In 1975, he received the Order of Culture award for contributing to the Japanese art world as a leading painter for his entire career.

Nakagawa continued to create lively paintings until he died at the age of 98. He expresses distinct originality in his paintings, such as daring brush work, vivid colour contrast, and a grand picture structure. In his life time, Nakagawa tried many different art forms and did not limit himself only to oil painting. Some of his other best-known works include Suibokugansai, calligraphy, ceramics, illustrations, and book cover designing.

The famous paintings are “Fukuura” (a landscape of the fishing village in the Manazuru peninsula), “Mt.Komagatake”, including the serial pictures of “Roses” and “Sunflowers”. His mineral pigment paintings, calligraphy and ceramic wares are well-known as same as the oil paintings. Ex: Word by Kazumasa (calligraphy); Wild flowers and fish captured in the sea off Manazuru (mineral pigment painting)

We at the Nakagawa Kazumasa Museum welcome school and tour visits.
We provide guided programs and workshops. Please contact us for more details.