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 Camellia Bowl 1938 |
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Rosanjin in Four Seasons Yoshitomo Kajikawa |
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"Total devotion to natural beauty" is one of the phrases Rosanjin used. This phrase is not merely an expression of his strong inquiring spirit for creativity but also an embodiment of his life philosophy and a faithful reflection of the man he actually was - totally independent and self - reliant - throughout his life. There is no doubt, to be sure, that the ideal of Rosanjin's beauty lies in nature.
Before I was aware, I came to harbor desire to liberate Rosanjin from my room and from the museum. I wanted to take his works of art out into much wider natural environments. By doing so, I fancied I would be able to meet a new Rosanjin I had not seen before. Bearing in mind Rosanjin's words "I certainly do my best but only at play", I sallied forth to kamigamo, the Omi way, Ohara in northern Kyoto, and to the Hanaore Pass from season to season. Against the background of fascinating changes in seasons, we were able to play with a new Rosanjin every change in seasons brought out for us. Looking at his works which mysteriously increases their brilliance in the face of flowers, water, breeze and snow, we were dumbfounded by the great depth of Rosanjin's sense of beauty. Kyoto is a city where Japanese culture has been allowed to ripen over a period of 1000 long years. Lying at the very core of that culture has always been the spirit that values symbiotic relationships with nature above anything else. That spirit is undoubtedly in evidence in Rosanjin's works. The fact that Rosanjin chose to remain an uncrowned man-of-the-field artist all through his life clearly shows that he was full of that particular spirit. In his late years, when he was drummed out of Hoshigaokasaryo, Rosanjin built his own kiln in the hills of Kamakura and totally devoted himself to creation of ceramic wares. Far from the madding crowd, he, like a wild bird, rose at sunup and went to bed at sundown. He called himself Mukyo (dweller in the realm of dreams) and gave himself full rein in playing in the field. (Director, Kahitsukan - Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art) (Translated by Atsuo Tsuruoka) |
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Biography |
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| 1883 | Born on March 23 in the village of Kamigamo to the north of Kyoto. Real name Fusajiro Kitaoji. |
| 1889 | Registered as the adopted son of Takezo Fukuda, a woodblock carver. Enters Umeya Elementary School. |
| 1893 | Graduates from elementary school. Apprenticed to the Chisaka Pharmacy, which specializes in Chinese herbal medicines. |
| 1899 | Becomes a painter of the then-popular Western-style signboards; studies calligraphy. |
| 1904 | Submits a copy of the Thousand Character Classic to the calligraphy division of the prestigious Nitten Art Exhibition, and wins first Prize. |
| 1907 | Begins accepting calligraphy pupils under the name Otei Fukuda. Also supports himself by painting shop signs and doing commercial calligraphy. |
| 1921 | In April begins the Bishoku Club (Gourmet Club). |
| 1925 | Opens Hoshigaoka-saryo Restaurant. |
| 1926 | Has a kiln erected in the corner of a plot of land he is renting in Yamazaki, outside Kamakura. |
| 1927 | Establishes the Rosanjin Ceramic Art Institute. |
| 1936 | Is forced to leave Hoshigaoka-saryo and supports himself exclusively with his artwork. In September Toyozo Arakawa visits the kiln at Yamazaki. |
| 1938 | In June launches a bimonthly magazine Gabi Seikatsu (Life of Elegance and Beauty) with himself as editorial supervisor. |
| 1942 | Devotes himself exclusively to decorating and designing lacquer ware. |
| 1945 | Hoshigaoka-saryo burns to the ground in an air raid. |
| 1946 | Opens a ceramics shop called Kado Kado Bibo in Ginza, Tokyo. |
| 1951 | Exhibition of Modern Japanese Pottery at Musee Cernuschi in Paris held featuring pieces Rosanjin. American sculptor Isamu Noguchi and his wife Yoshiko Yamaguchi move in next door to Rosanjin in Yamazaki, and set up a studio there. |
| 1954 | Travels abroad, visiting the United States, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, and Hong Kong. An exhibition is held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. |
| 1955 | Invited accept the designation Living National Treasure for his mastery of Oribe ware, but declines. |
| 1959 | Dies on December 24. His remains were buried at the temple Saiho-ji, Nishigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto. |
Here are all of Kahitsukan's Museum goods | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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