Yasushi Tanaka

Born in Iwatsuki Town, Minami Saitama District (now part of Iwatsuki Ward, Saitama City), Saitama Prefecture. Tanaka’s family originally served the Ooka family, the lord of Iwatsuki, for generations, and his father was running a financial business. He grew up in a privileged environment, but his father’s sudden death when he was in the third grade led to the family’s dispersal. In 1904, after graduating from middle school, he emigrated from Yokohama to Seattle alone. He started to study painting himself. Around 1912, he was attending Fokko Tadama’s art school, and in 1913, he met Toshi Shimizu. In 1915, he taught at Tadama’s and his own art schools. He exhibited at The First Exhibition of the Japanese Artists Association in 1916, along with Toshi Shimizu and Kenjiro Nomura.
In 1920, Tanaka moved to Paris. From the following year onwards, he consistently exhibited at Salon National, Salon d’Automne, and Salon des Indépendants, among others. In 1924, he submitted two paintings to the 5th Teiten (Exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts) in Japan, but they were rejected. Despite a lack of opportunities to exhibit in Japan, Kojiro Matsukata purchased his oil painting, making it a part of Matsukata Collection. Although he continued to reside in France during World War II, even after most Japanese had left for Japan, he passed away in Paris in 1941.