Kotaro Migishi
Migishi Kōtarō was a Japanese painter in the yōga style. He was deeply influenced by Western Modernism, particularly Post-Impressionism and Surrealism, which he encountered through European art journals and exhibitions in Japan. He admired artists such as Cézanne and Matisse, absorbing their emphasis on structure, color, and flattened pictorial space. Rather than imitating Western models directly, Migishi transformed these influences into a highly personal visual language that bridged European modernism and Japanese sensibility.
Migishi claimed that the idea for this painting came from a conversation with an entomologist, who described a butterfly said to fly out over the open sea. Yet, whatever the story’s charm, a real butterfly could never rise above the clouds. In the painting, the butterflies and moths appear notably flat, as though copied from a field guide rather than observed in flight. Scattered across the surface at different angles and arranged in layered, two-dimensional planes, the insects seem liberated from gravity. Instead of anchoring the eye, they invite it to drift gently through the air, creating a sensation of weightless suspension.
P.S. Let the delicate beauty of Japanese art take flight. The Japanese Art 50 Postcards Set brings masterpieces like Migishi Kōtarō’s butterflies into your hands; it is perfect for sending a touch of elegance, color, and serenity to someone special.
P.P.S. Japanese art is especially famous for ukiyo-e art, which flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries. Take our ukiyo-e quiz and test your knowledge on the “images of the floating world.”