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Toshio Kajiyama

かじやま としお

Kajiyama Toshio

Pen Names: Toshio Kajiyama (birth name: Kajiyama Toshio)（Birth name / legal name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-07-24 （Kameido, Tokyo, Japan）
Died
2015-06-16 age 79
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kameido, Tokyo — childhood → Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan (resident since 1961)

Career

Occupations
painter, picture book author/illustrator, printmaker, ceramic artist
Active Years
1955-2015
Affiliations
Japan Advertising Art Association (Nissenbi)
Memberships
Japan Advertising Art Association
Influenced By
Tsuguharu Foujita, Hajime Kijima

Education

Musashino Art University
Design department → Oil painting department (left before graduation)
Period: 1950年代（在学・中退）
Country: Japan
Left before graduation after conflicts related to theatre activities
Nihon University, College of Art
College of Art
Period: 在学（入学・在学中から活動）
Country: Japan
Active in Japan Advertising Art Association and exhibited at Yomiuri Independent Exhibition while a student

Awards

Shell Art Award
1962
Result: 受賞
BIB (Bratislava Biennial of Illustrations) Golden Apple
1973
Work: The Wind Festival
Organization: BIB (Bratislava Biennial of Illustrations)
Result: 受賞
Kodansha Publishing Culture Award
1973
Work: A Bus That Changes in a Day
Organization: Kodansha
Result: 受賞
Shogakukan Painting Award
1974
Work: Ahoroku's River Drum
Organization: Shogakukan
Result: 受賞
Ehon Nippon Grand Prize
1982
Work: We Offer to Konkon-sama
Organization: Ehon Nippon Prize
Result: 受賞
BIB (Bratislava Biennial of Illustrations) Golden Apple
1997
Work: Nursery Songs for Everyone
Organization: BIB (Bratislava Biennial of Illustrations)
Result: 受賞
Ichikawa City Cultural Encouragement Award
1998
Organization: Ichikawa City
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Frog's Reward

1967 picture book

Illustrated by Kajiyama for text by Hajime Kijima. Noted for compositions influenced by the Chojugiga scrolls.

animalstraditional art motifshumor

Daisuke the Whale

1967 picture book

Illustrations by Kajiyama for text by Yukichi Amano, published 1967.

seafriendship

The Wind Festival

1972 picture book

A picture book blending folk motifs and abstract expression; awarded the BIB Golden Apple in 1973.

festivalswindfolklore

A Bus That Changes in a Day

1972 picture book

Text by Masafumi Nakagawa with Kajiyama's illustrations; won the Kodansha Publishing Culture Award in 1973.

everyday transformationimagination

We Offer to Konkon-sama

1982 picture book

A picture book incorporating folk-tale elements; recipient of the Ehon Nippon Grand Prize.

folktalesritualsbelief

Bibliography

  • The Frog's Reward
  • Daisuke the Whale
  • Endless Picture Book Stories
  • Umaoidori
  • The Wind Festival
  • A Bus That Changes in a Day
  • We Offer to Konkon-sama
  • Nursery Songs for Everyone

Adaptations

  • En ni Egaku: Painter Toshio Kajiyama (DVD)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
a blend of abstract expressionism and folk motifsconcise, poetic illustrative stylecompositions inspired by travel and landscapes
Recurring Motifs
frogsanimalsfestivals/windmountain village landscapestraditional iconography (e.g., Chojugiga)

Health

  • pneumonia
    2015-06
    Died of pneumonia in June 2015

Legacy

Recognized domestically and internationally as a painter and picture book creator, Kajiyama is known for combining folk motifs with abstract expression. A multi-time recipient of the BIB Golden Apple, he left a significant legacy in children's picture books.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Advertising Art Association

Archives

  • Works and related materials held in the National Diet Library and other collections

Trivia

  • Birth name was Kajiyama Toshio (梶山 俊男).
  • Won the Shell Art Award in 1962 and traveled to Europe; met Tsuguharu Foujita in Paris.
  • Received the BIB Golden Apple in 1973 and 1997.
  • Resident of Ichikawa City from 1961.