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Ishimoto Tadashi

いしもと しょう（本名読み：ただし）

Ishimoto Tadashi

Pen Names: Ishimoto Shō（Reading used professionally in art circles (commonly pronounced 'Shō')）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1920-07-03 （Okami Village, Naka District, Shimane Prefecture (now Misumi-cho, Hamada City, Shimane)）
Died
2015-09-26 （At his home (location unspecified)） age 95
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Okami Village, Naka District, Shimane Prefecture (now Misumi-cho, Hamada City, Shimane) → Kyoto City, Japan

Career

Occupations
Nihonga painter, Artist, Educator, Professor
Active Years
1944-2015
Affiliations
Kyoto City University of Arts, Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Professor
Memberships
Sōgakai (Soga-kai), Shinseisaku-kai (New Production Association)

Education

Shimane Prefectural Hamada Middle School (now Shimane Prefectural Hamada High School)
Country: Japan
Graduated from the former middle school (pre-war education system)
Kyoto Municipal School of Painting (now Kyoto City University of Arts)
Nihonga Department / Nihonga
Degree: 卒業
Period: 在学中に徴兵・復員後に卒業
Year of Graduation: 1944
Country: Japan
Conscripted during studies and sent to China; returned and graduated in 1944.

Awards

Nitten first selection
1947
Work: Three Girls
Organization: Japan Art Exhibition (Nitten, 3rd session)
Result: 入選
New Artist Award
1951
Work: Invitation to Journey
Organization: New Creation Exhibition (Shinseisaku-ten)
Result: 受賞
Arts Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education)
1971
Organization: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Arts Encouragement)
Result: 受賞
Japan Art Grand Prize
1971
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Three Girls

1947 Nihonga (Japanese-style painting)

Three Girls, produced shortly after the war, attracted attention for its depiction of figures and delicate use of color; one of his representative works.

FiguresYoung womenPostwar nihonga

Invitation to Journey

1951 Nihonga (Japanese-style painting)

A work interweaving figure and landscape, noted as one of the pieces that secured a New Artist Award.

JourneyFiguresLandscape

Bibliography

  • Ishimoto Tadashi: Collected Works (catalogue, year unknown)
  • Centennial Retrospective: Ishimoto Tadashi (Kyocera Museum of Art, 2023) catalogue

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Fusion of traditional nihonga techniques with modern sensibilitiesDelicate line work and subtle use of colorRealistic figure depiction
Recurring Motifs
Maiko (apprentice geisha)Nude figuresYoung womenLandscapeHuman figures

Health

  • Arrhythmia
    晩年
    Died in September 2015 from cardiac arrest due to arrhythmia

Legacy

A nihonga painter who brought fresh energy to postwar Japanese painting and contributed to the education of younger artists in Kyoto. Many works are held by the Sekisho Art Museum and others; his reputation continues with a centennial retrospective.

Museums

  • Sekisho Art Museum Misumi-cho, Hamada City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan
  • Museum of Kyoto City University of Arts Kyoto City, Japan
  • Kyocera Museum of Art (Kyocera Gallery) Kyoto City, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Sōgakai (Soga-kai)
  • Shinseisaku-kai (New Production Association)

Archives

  • Collections of Sekisho Art Museum
  • Collections of Museum of Kyoto City University of Arts

In Popular Culture

  • Centennial retrospective at Kyocera Museum of Art (2023)

Quotes

  • He brought a fresh wind to postwar nihonga with his sharp aesthetic sensibility.
    Source: Miyagawa Masashi (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, April 15, 2023, morning edition) (2023)

Trivia

  • His legal reading is 'Tadashi', but in artistic contexts his name is often read as 'Shō'.
  • Died on September 26, 2015, at age 95 from cardiac arrest due to arrhythmia.
  • The Sekisho Art Museum in his hometown of Hamada holds many of his works.