was a woodblock printmaker active in

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

Japan. He is associated with the '' sōsaku-hanga'' movement and the ''

mingei The concept of , variously translated into English as " folk craft", "folk art" or "popular art", was developed from the mid-1920s in Japan by a philosopher and aesthete, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), together with a group of craftsmen, including ...

'' (folk art) movement. Munakata was awarded the "Prize of Excellence" at the Second International Print Exhibition in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

, Switzerland in 1952, and first prize at the

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

Bienal Exhibition in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 1955, followed by Grand Prix at the

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Biennale in 1956, and the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...

, the highest honor in the arts by the Japanese government in 1970.

Early life

Munakata was born in the city of Aomori in

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...

in northern Honshū as the third of 15 children to a local

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

. Due to the impoverished circumstances of his family, he had only an elementary school education; however, he exhibited a passion for art from early childhood. In third grade, he began illustrating kites for his classmates. Munakata later claimed that his artistic endeavors were sparked by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

's (1853–1890) ''Still Life: Vase with Five Flowers'', a reproduction of which was given to him by his teacher when he was 17. Upon viewing of van Gogh's artwork, young Munakata decided that he wanted to become the “van Gogh of Aomori”. In 1924, Munakata moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

in order to fulfill his decision to become a professional painter in oils. Munakata's early career was not without obstacles. Unable to sell his paintings, he was forced to repair shoes and sell ''

nattō , spelled as natto in standard English language use, is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been fermented with ''Bacillus subtilis'' var. ''natto''. It is often served as a breakfast food with rice. It is served wi ...

'' part-time to survive. He was rejected by the ''

Bunten The is a Japanese art exhibition established in 1907. The exhibition consists of five art faculties: Japanese Style and Western Style Painting, Sculpture, Craft as Art, and Sho (calligraphy). During each exhibition, works of the great masters are ...

'' (The Japan Art Academy Exhibition) four times, until one of his paintings was finally accepted in 1928. However, by this date, his attention had shifted away from

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

to the traditional Japanese art of woodblock printing.

The path towards woodblock prints

In 1926, Munakata saw Kawakami Sumio's black-and-white woodcut ''Early Summer Breeze'', and decided to work on black-and-white prints. From 1928 onwards,

Hiratsuka Unichi , born in Matsue, Shimane, was a Japanese Woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock printmaker. He was one of the prominent leaders of the ''sōsaku hanga'' ("creative print") movement in 20th century Japan. Hiratsuka's father was a Shinto shrine, ...

(1895–1997), another renowned '' sōsaku-hanga'' printmaker, taught Munakata

wood carving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

. In 1929, four of his prints were accepted by the ''Shunyokai'' Exhibition, which bolstered his confidence in the new medium. In the following year, four more of his works were accepted for the '' Kokugakai'' national exhibition, thus establishing him in his career. His work was also part of the art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1935,

Yanagi Sōetsu , also known as Yanagi Muneyoshi, was a Japanese art critic, philosopher, and founder of the '' mingei'' (folk craft) movement in Japan in the late 1920s and 1930s. Personal life Yanagi was born in 1889 to Yanagi Narayoshi, a hydrographer of the ...

(1889–1961), father of the ''

'' (folk art) movement, saw Munakata's prints at the Kokugakai's annual spring exhibition, and bought twenty-five prints of ''Yamato shi Uruwashi'' by Munakata. This event changed Munakata's life. From then on Munakata was closely associated with the Japanese folk art movement. In 1936, Munakata went to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

and visited many

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and saw many

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Munakata's exposure to Buddhist religious imagery influenced his artistic style significantly. ''Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha'' (1939) is considered to be his greatest masterpiece. Munakata's house and most of his woodblocks were destroyed in the American firebombing of Tokyo in May 1945 his pet was also killed. He relocated to Fukumitsu Town,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

from 1945-1951.

Postwar period

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Munakata produced numerous woodblock prints, paintings in watercolor and oil, calligraphy, and illustrated books. He moved his studio to Kamakura in Kanagawa to be closer to Tokyo. He traveled overseas to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

in 1959, giving lectures at a number of overseas universities. His works received critical acclaim both in Japan and overseas, and he received many prizes. Munakata was awarded the "Prize of Excellence" at the Second International Print Exhibition in

, Switzerland, in 1952, and first prize at the

Bienal Exhibition in

in 1955, followed by Grand Prix at the

Biennale in 1956. He was awarded the

, the highest honor in the arts, by the Japanese government in 1970. Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art

Munakata died at his home in Tokyo. His grave is in Aomori, and his gravestone is patterned after that of Vincent van Gogh.

Subject matter and technique

Munakata took many of his themes from the traditions of his native Aomori in northern Japan, including the local people's love of nature and folk festivals such as the Nebuta festival. Munakata's belief and philosophy were engrained in

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

. His prints feature images of floating nude females representing

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'' that inhabit trees and plants. Inspired by poetry of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

, Munakata also incorporated poetry and calligraphy into his prints. This extremely shortsighted artist brought his face almost into contact with the wood when he carved. In his words, “the mind goes and the tool walks alone”. Munakata carved with amazing speed and scarcely used any preparatory sketches, producing spontaneous vitality that is unique to his prints. During the early stage of his career, Munakata worked exclusively on black-and-white prints. Later on, upon the advice of

(1889–1961), Munakata colored his prints from the back, a technique called ''urazaishiki''.

Munakata's philosophy on woodblock prints

Unlike Kōshirō Onchi (1891–1955), father of the '' sōsaku-hanga'' movement, who advocated artists’ expression of the "self" in creating prints, Munakata disclaimed all responsibilities as creator of art. For Munakata, artistic creation is one but many of the manifestations of nature's force and beauty, which is inherent in the woodblock itself. Munakata called prints ''itaga'' instead of ''hanga'', emphasizing the material instead of the process of

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

. (written in the same

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

, ''han'' refers to the process of printing, whereas ''ita'' refers to the woodblock itself). In Munakata's words, "the essence of ''hanga'' lies in the fact that one must give in to the ways of the board ... there is a power in the board, and one cannot force the tool against that power." Munakata's subject matter and artistic style are very much characterized by his philosophy on the supremacy of the woodblock material and nature's inherent force and beauty.

Quotations of Shiko Munakata

"Like the vastness of space, like a universe unlimited, untold, unattainable, and inscrutable- that is the woodcut." "The nature of the woodcut is such, that even a mistake in its carving will not prevent it from its true materialization." "The concern that it be ugly is characteristic of human thoughts and not of the woodcut itself." "It is inherent in the woodcut that it can never be ugly" "The woodcut, unconcerned with good and evil, with ideas, with differences, tells us that it consists of truth alone," "It is precisely the beauty of this which will further enlarge the limitlessness of the world of beauty." (from Shiko Munakata, ''Munakata: the “Way” of the Woodcut'', Brooklyn, Pratt Adlib Press, 1961).

Philately

One of Munakata’s works, “Benzaiten”, appeared on a 1982

commemorative postage stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike de ...

issued by the Japanese government as part of a series on modern Japanese art.

Gallery

File:Installation view of Woodcut Screens of Shiko Munakata, January 9 - February 18, 1968, Brooklyn Museum, NY 3.jpg, ''Woodcut Screens of Shiko Munakata'' at the Brooklyn Museum, January 9 - February 18, 1968. File:Installation view of Woodcut Screens of Shiko Munakata, January 9 - February 18, 1968, Brooklyn Museum, NY 6.jpg, ''Woodcut Screens of Shiko Munakata'' at the Brooklyn Museum, January 9 - February 18, 1968. File:Installation view of Woodcut Screens of Shiko Munakata, January 9 - February 18, 1968, Brooklyn Museum, NY 4.jpg, ''Woodcut Screens of Shiko Munakata'' at the Brooklyn Museum, January 9 - February 18, 1968.

References

External links

Munakata's works at the Brooklyn MuseumWoodcut Screens of Shiko Munakata - Brooklyn Museum 1968 Exhibition

Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art in AomoriMunakata Shiko Memorial Museum in Kamakura (Japanese site)

works at the Fine Arts Museum of San FranciscoMunakata Shiko's works at Los Angeles County Museum of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munakata, Shiko 1903 births 1975 deaths Japanese printmakers People from Aomori (city) Sosaku hanga artists 20th-century Japanese painters 20th-century printmakers Buddhist artists Olympic competitors in art competitions