was a Japanese painter in the

yōga is a style of artistic painting in Japan, typically of Japanese subjects, themes, or landscapes, but using Western (European) artistic conventions, techniques, and materials. The term was coined in the Meiji period (1868–1912) to distingu ...

style.

Life and work

He originally planned to have a career in the military, but failed the qualifying exam at the

Imperial Japanese Army Academy The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course f ...

. After considering other options, he decided to become a painter and, in 1907, went to the United States in pursuit of that goal. It took him five years of working odd jobs in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

before he met the Dutch painter,

Fokko Tadama Fokko Tadama (16 May 1871 – 25 May 1937) was a Dutch painter in the style of the Hague School, known primarily for coastal scenes, who spent much of his career in the United States. He was also a teacher and focused primarily on Japanese immig ...

, who took him on as a student and was able to gain him admission to a local art school. After graduating, he briefly returned to Japan to marry his childhood sweetheart. In 1917, they moved to New York, where he joined the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...

. While there, he made contact with his fellow Japanese emigrant painters, Kuniyoshi Yasuo and Ishigaki Eitarō, who had also studied in Seattle. His primary instructor was

John French Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight. He is best known ...

, who had a profound influence on his style. His best known early paintings are light hearted scenes from the streets of New York. He won an award at a major painting and sculpture exhibition in 1921, but the prize was rescinded because he was not an American citizen. In 1924, he and his wife moved to France, where he exhibited at the

Salon d’Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The f ...

. Later, he was awarded a prize at the Salon of the

Société des Artistes Indépendants The Société des Artistes Indépendants (''Society of Independent Artists'') or Salon des Indépendants was formed in Paris on 29 July 1884. The association began with the organization of massive exhibitions in Paris, choosing the slogan "''sans ...

for his portrayal of soldiers and monks in

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declare ...

. He returned to Japan in 1927, settled in Tokyo, and became a founding member of the . He became a staunch supporter of the Japanese military forces and, during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, he created a series of propagandistic

battle painting Military art is art with a military subject matter, regardless of its style or medium. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to celebrate their victories and intimidate po ...

s, apparently done from photographs. During the last days of the war, he and his family were evacuated to their ancestral home in Tochigi Prefecture. He died in December of that year, shortly after learning that his eldest son, Ikuo, had been killed in June.

Sources

* "Shimizu Toshi". In: ' (exhibition catalog), Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne, 1985 * Laurance P. Roberts: "Shimizu Toshi". In: ''A Dictionary of Japanese Artists''. Weatherhill, 1976. .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimizu, Toshi 1887 births 1945 deaths Japanese painters Yōga painters Artists from Tochigi Prefecture Japanese emigrants to the United States War paintings