Difference between revisions of "Irina Yamashita"
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Revision as of 16:13, January 5, 2006
| This article forms part of the series Orthodoxy in Japan | |
| |
| History | |
| Timeline of Orthodoxy in Japan Church of Japan | |
| Saints | |
| Nicholas of Japan Andronik of Perm | |
| Bishops | |
| Sergius (Tikhomirov) Nicholas (Ono) Benjamin (Basalyga) Ireney (Bekish) Nikon (de Greve) Vladimir (Nagosky) Theodosius (Nagashima) Seraphim (Sigrist) of Sendai Daniel (Nushiro) of Japan Seraphim (Tsujie) of Sendai | |
| People | |
| Fr Paul Sawabe Fr Simeon Michiro Mii Fr Anatoly Tikhai Yakov Tikhai Victor Pokrovsky Irina Yamashita | |
| Institutions | |
| Holy Resurrection Cathedral | |
| Edit this box | |
Irina Rin Yamashita, an early convert of Archimandrite Nicholas, later St. [[Nicholas of Japan|], to Orthodox Christianity, was the leading iconographer and painter of religious art for Nicholas’ Orthodox mission in Japan. Examples of her works are preserved in many of the older Orthodox churches in Japan as well as in private collection in her hometown of Kasama.
Life
Irina Yamashita was born in Kasama, Japan in 1857. As a teenager she moved to Edo (Tokyo) to learn the art of traditional Japanese woodblock printing (Ukiyo-e) as an understudy at various studios. In 1877, she entered the newly established National Academy for Fine Arts. Through a friend, Varvara (Barbara) Yamamuro, at the institute she met Archimandrite Nicholas and became interested in Orthodox Christianity. Soon, she was baptized an Orthodox Christian. Noting her talent as an artist, Bp. Nicholas, in 1880, arranged for her to study iconography in Russia making arrangements for her at the Novodevichy Resurrection Monastery for women in St. Petersburg, Russia. Here, she studied from 1881 to 1883. Then, she returned to Japan where she became the principal artist of religious art, including iconography, at the mission headquarters in Kanda Suragadai in Tokyo.
Over the ensuing years, Irina produced many icons and other religious works and illustrations for the Japanese Orthodox Mission. She is remembered as the leader and forerunner of iconography in Japan. Irina never married and lived a life of celibacy, much in the style of an Orthodox monastic. She died in 1939.
