Tanaka Takashi (田中孝, 22 July 1908 – 11 September 1977), known by his

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

, was a Japanese ''

Nihonga ''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...

'' painter from the

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 ...

noted for his flower-and-bird paintings of the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest o ...

Biography

He was born in what is now Tochigi City,

Tochigi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi). Tochigi ...

, as the son of a local sculptor. Interested in art at an early age, he won his first award for a

watercolor painting Watercolor (American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the U ...

at the age of 7. In 1926, he enrolled in the ''Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko'' (the predecessor to the

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music 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 ...

), where he specialized in

painting, but left after a few months without graduating due to his father's illness and lack of funds. From 1938, he lived at various locations in

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...

, and although his future initially seemed promising, his isolation from the mainstream art circles meant that he had difficulty in establishing a name. He was forced to work at numerous odd jobs to stay alive, while attempting to paint on the side. In the years of

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 opposin ...

, he endured illness and poverty. It was only in 1947, in an exhibition sponsored by Kawabata Ryūshi, that his name became known to the art world. In 1958, at the age of 50, he decided to relocate to

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is d ...

, where he found employment at a

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

factory, earning just enough for a frugal life. He continued to paint, using the nature of Amami Ōshima for inspiration, and his output through the 1960s and early 1970s was prolific. Tanaka Isson died in 1977 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 69. After his death, his life and the style of his works were compared with that of

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

on the Japanese national television (

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

)'s ''Sunday Art Museum'' program, and in 2001, a memorial art museum was established in his honor near the airport on Amami Ōshima. In 2018 his work was exhibited outside Japan for the first time.

Philately

One of Isson's paintings (Amami Forest, palm trees and bougainvillea) was selected by Japan Post for a

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 ...

in 2003, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the reversion of the Amami islands to Japanese administration.

References

*Tanaka, Isson. '' "".'' Nihon Hoso Shuppan Kyokai (1985). * OYA, Tomone. ''TANAKA Isson: Hōjō no Amami''. Nihon Hōsō Shuppan Kyokai (2004). * OYA, Tomone. ''Motto Shiritai TANAKA Isson: ABC　Art beginners' collection''. Tokyo Bijutsu (2010).

External links

Tanaka Isson Memorial Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Isson 1908 births 1977 deaths Nihonga painters Artists from Tochigi Prefecture 20th-century Japanese painters