“Lefteye flounder [Jp. hirame] on the left and righteye flounder [karei] on the right” is a saying the describes how to tell two thigs apart that resemble each other  closely. With its belly turned down, the fish that has its eye on the left is the lefteye flounder and, of course, vice versa. In practice, it does not always work like this, as there are variations of righteye flounders with the eyes on the left (these are called numa-garei, starry flounder). Our painters, however, adhered to conventional wisdom, with Kobayashi Kokei portraying the lefteye flounder on the left and Okumura Togyu the righteye flounder on the right. 

Kokei’s style tends to center on a sharp outline and and almost transparent application of color, which are also present in this work, despite of it being done mostly in ink. In many of his works, the treatment of the unpainted background (yohaku) is employed to create atmosphere for the work and as a way for the artist to express himself. 

The artist name “Togyu” (lit., soil and oxen) is based on a poem attributed to the legendary Chinese Chan monk Hanshan, alluding to an oxen slowly transforming a field full of stones into rich harvest through its untiring labour. Togyu rose to fame in the art world slowly and steadily by establishing a smooth style accentuated by a decisive brush line. However, the present work relies almost exclusively on washes of ink and color, omitting outlines whenever possible. His realistic rendering suggests the slippery quality of the fish’s skin, and the subtle differences in its body volume between the belly and the back.

Perhaps because of the way Kokei applied sizing liquid (dosa) to the background there is little gradation between light and dark; rather, the silk shines through in an almost unaltered state. By contrast, Togyu’s background evokes a sandy beach. We could also imagine a chopping board on which the fish is placed. The two mussels that the painter placed by the side of the fish likewise may suggest a culinary context, perhaps prompting the viewer to imagine the fish boiled and served with a delicious clam soup.

Togyu became a disciple of the painter Kajita Hanko at the age of sixteen. At that time, he admired Kokei, who as Hanko’s master student managed the painting school. When Hanko died in 1917, Kokei became Togyu’s teacher. Kokei himself passed away in 1957 but Togyu kept his memory alive with works such as Pure Heart, an expression of his grief, and Daigo, a scene of cherry blossoms at the temple Daigoji, where the seventh anniversary of Kokei’s passing was commemorated with Buddhist rituals. The two paintings of flounders were not planned as a set but for some reason these independently executed works evoke a curious sense of belonging together. Just like the lefteye and righteye flounder, the two painters, emerging from the same studio, may resemble each other in parts of their biographies, yet under the surface there are countless differences, indicating how each of them carved out their own, individual position within the larger framework of nihonga.

Kobayashi Kokei (nihonga painter; 1883–1957)
Born in Niigata Prefecture, Kokei moved to Tokyo to study with Kajita Hanko. Together with Maeda Seison and Yasuda Yukihiko, he counts among the three most eminent painters of the highly regarded Inten exhibitions. Using nihonga as a starting point, Kokei added naturalism and the decorative to his idiom, eventually arriving at a straightforward neo-classical Japanese painting style. He was appointed a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and named an Imperial Household Artist and Person of Cultural Merit. Kokei received the Order of Culture in 1950.
Okumura Togyu (nihonga painter; 1889–1990) A native of Tokyo, Togyu studied nihonga with Kajita Hanko and Kokayashi Kokei. He exhibited widely at the Tatsumi Gakai exhibitions, the Chuo Bijutsuten Exhibitions, and the Inten exhibitions after the latter’s revival in 1914. After becoming a member of the Japan Art Institute, he focused on the regular Inten exhibitions, eventually rising to the post of Inten chairman. He became a member of the Japan Art Academy, and was awarded the Order of Culture in 1962.