Abstract
The 18th century Western-influenced Samurai paintings from the Akita Ranga school, with its rigorous style, are not largely recognized as associated with Megane-e paintings, which are optic pictures designed using perspectives and are viewed through a lens. However the landscape paintings of the Akita Ranga school demonstrate a Megane-e like spatial organization and similar literary ideas and inspirations for their subject matter, such as the famous sites of Edo and its outskirts. This study aims to investigate the Akita Ranga school’s landscape paintings, which marked the establishment of the Edo school, and the relationship of the Akita Ranga school to Megane-e, by examining the recent acquisition of Akita Ranga’s Megane-e series by the Akita Senshu Museum of Art.
