Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.


Yoshio Markino artist

Yoshio Markino was born into a Samurai family in Komoro, Japan in 1869. He learned drawing from a young age and, after formal training in Japan, moved to San Francisco in 1893, followed by England, for further studies. Markino settled in London in 1897, where he integrated Japanese and Western artistic styles in his painting and was particularly inspired by London's fog and lighting at night. His work was much published and exhibited prior to his return to Japan in 1942 during the Second World War.

Born: 1869 Komoro (now Toyota City), Japan

Died: 1956 Kamakura, Japan

Year of Migration to the UK: 1897


Biography

Artist Yoshio Markino (né Heiji Makino) was born on 25 December 1869 in Komoro (now Toyota City), Japan into a Samurai family. His grandfather was an artist and Markino was introduced to drawing at a young age. His mother and sister taught him when he was just four years old, and by then, he could already draw flowers and fishes (The Magazine of Art, 1903). Following early training in Japan, when he was exposed to both ‘literati’ painting (nanga) as well as painting in the western style (yoga), Markino moved to San Francisco in 1893 to study at the Hopkins Art School. He then relocated to London in 1897, where he continued his studies at the South Kensington College of Science and the Central School of Art and Design. Markino lived in various London neighborhoods, including Greenwich, New Cross, Kensal Rise, Norwood, and Brixton, but he eventually made Kensington and Chelsea his long-term home, remaining in England until 1942. Initially struggling with poverty, Markino often walked for hours to classes as he was unable to afford public transport and paid his rent with his paintings. Nevertheless, he remained committed to his education, studying Greek, Latin, and English, and actively engaged in painting, writing essays, and lecturing. Markino not only earned recognition in artistic circles but also immersed himself in the cultural and social milieu of the time, attending Bohemian gatherings hosted by Pamela Colman Smith and appearing in Arthur Ransome’s Bohemia in London. He also associated with notable figures such as Christabel Pankhurst and Sarah Grand and was a part of a collective of Japanese expatriate artists in England, which included Urushibara Mokuchu (with whom he often collaborated on the creation of woodblocks), Ishibashi Kazunori, Hara Busho, and Matsuyama Ryuson.

Markino developed a deep affection for London. He was particularly captivated by the city's mist and fog, especially as it affected the appearance of buildings under gaslight, translating these observations into watercolor paintings. He declared, ‘London in mist is far above my own ideal. The colour and its effect are most wonderful. I think London without mists would be like a bride without a trousseau […] The London mist attracts me so that I do not feel I could live any other place but London’ (Medium). Markino's artwork uniquely fused Japanese pictorial traditions, influenced by his formal training in literati painting, with Western styles, notably those of J. M. W. Turner and James A. McNeil Whistler. This combination is exemplified by Buckingham Palace, London, Seen across Green Park (1911, Royal Collection Trust), reminiscent of ukiyo-e prints but characterised by muted colours and a sense of perspective. Street lamps and shop windows, obscured by the fog, inspired distinct visual effects in his paintings. In Spring Mist: Westminster Bridge the yellow-toned lamps act more as markers than illuminators. Similarly, his depiction of Trafalgar Square in the fog reflects a subdued reality, contrasting with brighter portrayals by other Edwardian illustrators. Markino's night scenes, which gained attention for their combination of fog with gas and electric lighting, were noted for their radiance, with light shining through the fog like coloured halos. Critics praised Markino for capturing the atmospheric qualities of London, particularly its mysterious beauty enhanced by diverse lighting. William S. Rodner, in his book on Markino, discusses the era's transition from gas to electric lighting, with some commentators lamenting the loss of the gas lamps' yellowish glow to the more intense electric light. Despite this, Markino adeptly utilised both forms of lighting in his works, creating varied and dynamic scenes. His illustrations of the Thames Embankment, for example, demonstrated his skill in depicting the interplay of light, fog, and the urban environment. These works highlighted the transformative effect of light on the cityscape, particularly during the transition from day to night.

Markino’s works were frequently published in Studio magazine. A significant milestone was the 1907 publication of The Colour of London by W.J. Loftie, featuring 48 of his watercolours and his reflections on life in London. The book received reviews in major newspapers and magazines and coincided with an exhibition showcasing Markino's watercolours and sketches at the Clifford Gallery in Haymarket. This was followed in 1910 by an account of his travels in A Japanese Artist in London, along with similar books of his watercolours, The Colour of Paris (1908) and The Colour of Rome (1912). Despite achieving celebrity status at the peak of his career, Markino's success dwindled with the onset of the Second World War, strained Japan-Britain relations, and a decline in his creative output. He returned to Japan in 1942. Yoshio Markino died in Kamakura, Japan on 18 October 1956. In the UK public domain, his work is represented in the Royal Collection and the Museum of London, among others. In 1991 his work featured in Japan and Britain. An Aesthetic Dialogue 1850– 1930, at the Barbican Art Gallery, London.

Related books

  • Rachel Peat and William Howard Coaldrake eds., Japan: Courts and Culture, exhibition catalogue (London: Royal Collection Trust, 2020)
  • Ross S Kilpatrick, A Japanese Artist in the West London Hospital (1907): Yoshio Markino in London (1897–1942), Journal of Medical Biography, Vol. 5, 1997, pp. 116-119
  • William S. Rodner, Edwardian London Through Japanese Eyes: The Art and Writings of Yoshio Markino, 1897-1915 (Leiden: Brill, 2012)
  • William S Rodner, ‘The Making of a London Samurai: Yoshio Markino and the Illustrated Press in Edwardian Britain’, The British Art Journal, No. 5, 2004
  • Ian Nish, James Hoare, and Hugh Cortazzi, Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits (Folkestone: Japan Library, 1994)
  • Yoshio Makino and Amelia Defries, America Seen by Yoshio Markino (London: Cottars Studio Gallery, 1928)
  • Yoshio Makino, Recollections and Reflections of a Japanese Artist (London: Chatto & Windus, 1913)
  • ‘My Recollections and Reflections’, Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science And Art, 1 November 1913, pp. 561-561
  • Yoshio Makino, When I Was a Child (London: Constable, 1912)
  • Alfred H. Hyatt and Yoshio Makino, The Charm of London: an Anthology (London: Chatto & Windus, 1912)
  • ‘Yoshio Markino in Italy’, The Observer, 26 November 1911, p. 4
  • Hugh De Sélincourt, Yoshio Makino, Oxford From Within. Illustrated by Yoshio Markino (1910)
  • ‘A Japanese View of Some’, The Observer, 10 October 1909, p. 5
  • W. J. Loftie and Yoshio Makino, The Colour of London (London: Chatto & Windus, 1907)
  • ‘A Japanese Artist in London: Mr. Yoshio Markino’, The Magazine of Art, January 1903, pp. 504-506

Public collections

Related organisations

  • Central School of Art and Design (student)
  • Hopkins Art School, San Francisco (student)
  • South Kensington College of Science (student)

Related web links

Selected exhibitions

  • Japan and Britain. An Aesthetic Dialogue 1850– 1930, Barbican Art Gallery, London (1991)
  • Solo exhibition, Cotters Studio, London (1928)
  • Paintings and Water-colours by Walter Donne, Julius Olsson, Warwick Goble & Yoshio Markino, Fine Art Society, London (1909)
  • Yoshio Markino: The Colour of London, Clifford Gallery, London (1907)
  • Japanese Exhibition, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (1902)
  Yoshio Markino
   
Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Yoshio Markino]

Ben Uri library

Publications related to [Yoshio Markino] in the Ben Uri Library