So good, in fact, that when the lord of a northern domain asked Gennai to advise him on the development of his copper mines, the electro-ronin ended up also giving the guy lessons in Dutch-style paintings. He eventually mentored one of the lord’s retainers, Odano Naotake, for five years, who later went on to create the Akita Ranga school of West-influence paintings. They were characterized by large foreground subjects like plants, birds or insects, with Japanese landscapes in the back. They’re actually quite lovely but, sadly, the school was very short-lived … because Hiraga Gennai murdered someone.
Hiraga Gennai’s Life Ended On A Low Note
Akita Ranga eventually died out after Hiraga Gennai was arrested for murder and, due to their close working relationship, Odano Naotake’s name became poison. The weird thing is, we don’t know exactly what happened to Gennai at the end of his life. Contemporary sources say that, as time went on, the man became more paranoid and high-strung, possibly because, despite his genius, he was never a commercial success and was constantly on the lookout for patrons. It was either that or Time Travel-Induced Insanity. Tesla apparently also struggled with it.
Most everyone agrees that Gennai was arrested for killing someone but the details are somewhat hazy. One theory says that he killed one of his disciples in a fit of self-pitying rage over not getting the kind of recognition he thought he deserved. Another story says that while overseeing the repairs of a feudal lord’s mansion, he showed up to work drunk as hell and mistakenly thought that someone had stolen his repair blueprints, so he killed two of his workers. In any case, he was arrested and eventually died in prison of tetanus.
Though another theory says that he escaped and lived in secret under the protection of powerful government officials because it’s so hard to accept that a man with so much talent and potential just blipped unceremoniously out of existence in the dumbest way possible. Not unlike a fart in the wind. We hope Gennai found a little solace in that.
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