Identity:

Bunkino Matsuki was a dealer and connoisseur of oriental art.

Life:

Born in Japan, Matsuki was brought to America as a child by Edward S. Morse, a museum curator and noted collector of Chinese and Japanese art. He later owned a gallery in Boylston Street, Boston, MA and became editor of the journal Lotus. Matsuki was also a friend of the collector Charles L. Freer of Detroit and an admirer of JW's work; in April 1903 he sent him some old Japanese paper via Freer (#01540).

Bibliography:

Sharf, Frederic A., et al., A Pleasing Novelty: Bunkio Matsuki and The Japan Craze in Victorian Salem, Peabody & Essex Museum, Salem, MA, 1993.