An art body. It was formed in 1914 by eleven painters in oils seeking new directions who had left the Bunten, among them Hakutei Ishii, Hanjiro Sakamoto, Ryuzaburo Umehara and Hoan Kosugi. In 1919 a sculpture section was set up with the arrival of Yuzo Fujikawa. In 1944 it was pressed by the authorities on account of the war and dissolved, but was rebuilt in 1945 around Seiji Togo. It now has painting, sculpture, design and photography sections, and holds an open exhibition each autumn.