was a Japanese graphic designer who was a pioneer of modern Japanese graphic design.

Early life

He was born in

Matsuyama file:Matsuyama city office Ehime prefecture Japan.jpg, 270px, Matsuyama City Hall file:Ehimekencho-20040417.JPG, 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan ...

City,

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

in 1876. He graduated from the Japanese-style painting department of Tokyo School of Art, which is the present

Tokyo University of the Arts or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

, in 1901. At first, he was aiming to become a Japanese-style painter and he studied under Matsuura Ganki, a Japanese style painter of the

Shijō school The , also known as the ''Maruyama–Shijō'' school, was a Japanese school of painting. History It was an offshoot school of the Maruyama school of Japanese painting founded by Maruyama Ōkyo, and his former student Matsumura Goshun in the ...

. He went to Tokyo in 1897. Afterward, he studied under Kawabata Gyokusho. He entered the Japanese-style painting department of Tokyo School of Art. He learned the western-style painting and the European-style design from

Kuroda Seiki Viscount was a Japanese painter and teacher, noted for bringing Western art theory and practice to a wide Japanese audience. He was among the leaders of the ''yōga'' (or Western-style) movement in late 19th and early 20th-century Japanese pai ...

while he was attending the Tokyo School of Art.

Professional life

After he graduated from the school, he became a designer and worked for the Osaka Sanwa print shop, assuming the position of design chief. However, because the company's design department closed the next year, he left the shop. He went to

Shimane is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geo ...

as a junior high school teacher in 1904, then went to Tokyo again the following year and began working for the '' Tokyo Chuo Shinbun''. In 1908 he became a non-regular employee designer in the

Mitsukoshi is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which also owns the Isetan department store chain. History It was founded in 1673 with the (shop name) , selli ...

dry goods shop, taking charge of the cover of ''Mitsukoshi Times''. He became the store's design chief in 1910 and so he left the newspaper company. The magazine ''Mitsukoshi'' began to be published in 1911. He became the lecturer of the design department of Nihon Bijutsu Gakko (Japan School of Art) and became the adviser to

Calpis Calpis ((カルピス, Karupisu))/Milkis ((밀키스, Milkiseu)) is a Japanese uncarbonated soft drink, manufactured by , a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. The beverage has a light, somewhat milky, and slightl ...

Co., a beverage manufacturer, in 1921. He went to Europe to study modern graphic design from 1922 to 1924. Having returned to Japan, he formed "Hichininsha," a group to study posters, in 1925. He designed the poster of the

Tokyo Metro Ginza Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia. The line was named af ...

opening to traffic in 1927. It can be said that his works during this period led the early stages of Japanese commercial design. He became design department chief of Imperial School of Fine Arts (present

Musashino Art University or is a private university in Kodaira, Western Tokyo, founded in 1962 with roots going back to 1929. It is known as one of the leading art universities in Japan. History In October 1929, was founded. In December 1948, it became , and in ...

) in 1929. He is one of the founders of the Tama Teikoku Bijutsu Gakko (present

Tama Art University or is a private art university located in Tokyo, Japan. It is known as one of the top art schools in Japan. History The forerunner of Tamabi was Tama Imperial Art School (多摩帝国美術学校, Tama Teikoku Bijutsu Gakkō) founded in 1935 ...

) in 1935. His wife is Sugiura Suiko (1885-1960) who was a poet of the

Araragi ''Araragi'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small East Asian hairstreak genus. The larvae feed on ''Juglans'' (walnut) species. Species *'' Araragi enthea'' (Janson, 1877) *'' Araragi sugiyamai'' Matsui, 1989 *'' Ar ...

faction. She was influenced by

Kitahara Hakushu Kitahara (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hakushū Kitahara or Kitahara Ryūkichi (1885–1942), Japanese tanka poet * Kana Kitahara (born 1988), Japanese footballer * Kenji Kitahara (born 1976), former ...

Works

*Mitsukoshi Poster (angel design) (1915) *Tokyo Underground Railway (present

Ueno-Asakusa section) opening advertisement poster (1927) *the 3rd Exhibition of "Hichininsha" poster (1928) *''Hisui Sōsaku Zuan'' (1930) *Package design of cigarette 'Hibiki' (1932) *Package design of cigarette 'Hikari' (1936) Many of his works are stored at the

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo The in Tokyo, Japan, is the foremost museum collecting and exhibiting modern Japanese art. This Tokyo museum is also known by the English acronym MOMAT (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). The museum is known for its collection of 20th-centu ...

and

The Museum of Art, Ehime opened in the grounds of Matsuyama Castle in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan in 1998, as the successor to the , which opened in 1970. The collection of some 11,900 works includes paintings by Monet and Cezanne, nihonga practitioners Yukihi ...

Award

*Japan Art Academy Imperial Award in 1955. *

Medals of Honor (Japan) are medals awarded by the Government of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and we ...

with Purple Ribbon in 1958.

References

*''Graphic Design no Seiki'' (Tokyo: Bijutushuppansha, 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugiura, Hisui Japanese graphic designers 1965 deaths 1876 births Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Artist from Ehime Prefecture