Oka Bunto

Oka Buntō (real name: Tōzo) (1876-1943). Born in Tango province, Buntō moved to Kyoto and graduated from both the Kyoto City School of Arts and the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting. He studied mostly under Yamamoto Shunkyo (1871-1933) and worked in the Shijō style. He exhibited at the Bunten in 1912, 1915 and 1916 and won several prizes. Buntō had several stylized seals, kaō. This seal in a shape of a skull might have been designed by Buntō specifically for use on paintings of ghosts. It is very elegant and flamboyant.