was a Japanese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and sculptor.

Biography

Takamura was the eldest son of Japanese sculptor Takamura Kōun. He graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1902, where he studied sculpture and oil painting. He studied in New York, at the Art Students League of New York City in 1906. While in New York, Takamura studied under the well known sculptor

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculpture, sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Moun ...

. Takamura's time spent in America was difficult, and had great impact on his sculpture work and literary work. Takamura additionally studied in London in 1907, where he met his best friend Bernard Leach. After finishing his studies in Paris in 1908, he returned to Japan in 1909 and lived there for the rest of his life. His sculptural work shows strong influence both from Western work (especially

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

, whom he idolized) and from the Shirakabaha society. Takamura dedicated his artwork style to separating itself from the traditional Japanese style of art. Takamura and other artists were seen as leaders of a revolution in Japanese artwork. He is also famous for his poems, and especially for his 1941 collection ''Chiekoshō'' (智恵子抄, literally "Selections of Chieko", English title "Chieko's sky" after one of the poems therein), a collection of poems about his wife Chieko Takamura née Naganuma, the oil painter, paper artist and early member of the Japanese feminist movement, who died in 1938. In 1951 Takamura received the 2nd Yomiuri Prize.

Published works

* ''Chieko's sky'', 1941 (English translation 1978) - (English) * ''The Chieko poems'', bilingual edition, 2005 - * ''Poèmes à Chieko'', bilingual edition (Japanese and French), Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, 2021,

References

External links

Factmonster biography

1883 births 1956 deaths Tokyo School of Fine Arts alumni Yomiuri Prize winners 20th-century Japanese sculptors 20th-century Japanese poets Artists from Tokyo Metropolis {{Asia-sculptor-stub