太田武和 (太田恥堂) 油画先生 - 油画師

Postcard from Takekazu Ota (Ota Chidoh) to Yoshihiko Maeda: Oil Painting Teacher, Oil Paint Artist

These three postcards were sent by Ohta Takekazu, who also wrote under the pen name Ohta Chidoh. He was primarily known for his work on military history (see photo). All the New Year's greeting cards bear postmarks from Honjo, Tokyo, dated 1889, 1890, and 1892. Typically, such annual cards are rather standard, intended as simple gestures of goodwill. However, three of these cards stand out due to their mention of Maeda Yoshiko's occupation, making them of particular interest to researchers of 19th-century Japanese Western-style painters.

The postcard postmarked January 5, 1889, addresses Maeda as an "oil paint teacher" (油画先生, aburaga-sensei). The one dated January 6, 1890 refers to Maeda as an "oil paint artist" (油画師, abura-e-shi). These additional references make these two postcards especially interesting.