Kikuchi Kan Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 16 (1962) award
Kisaku Ito
いとう きさく
Ito Kisaku
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1899-08-01 （Misakichō, Kanda, Tokyo (then Tokyo City; now Kanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo), Japan）
- Died
- 1967-03-31 age 67
- Nationality
- Japanese
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Misakichō, Kanda, Tokyo (birthplace) → Kyoto (worked at film studios) → Kawazakuracho, Shiba (established stage-design department at Haiyūza Theatre)
Career
- Occupations
- stage set designer, art director, set designer, translator
- Active Years
- 1920-1967
- Affiliations
- Tsukiji Small Theater, Shinkyō Theatre Company, Haiyūza Theatre, Japan Art Academy
- Memberships
- Japan Art Academy
- Influenced By
- Yoshi Hijikata
- Influenced
- Kisaku Ito Award
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo School of Fine Arts (pre-war; now Tokyo University of the Arts) | Faculty of Fine Arts | Department of Western Painting | — | 1920–1923 | Japan |
Tokyo School of Fine Arts (pre-war; now Tokyo University of the Arts)
Faculty of Fine Arts
/ Department of Western Painting
Period:
1920–1923
Year of Graduation:
1923
Country:
Japan
Participated in the model-stage research studio led by Hijikata Yoshi while a student.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Minister of Education Award | — | — | Ministry of Education | 受賞 |
| 1949 | Mainichi Drama Award | — | — | Mainichi Shimbun | 受賞 |
| 1950 | Japan Art Academy Prize | — | 舞台装置における業績 | Japan Art Academy | 受賞 |
| 1953 | Mainichi Film Awards — Art Direction | Gan; Ugetsu Monogatari | 美術賞 | Mainichi Film Awards (Mainichi Shimbun) | 受賞 |
| 1962 | Kikuchi Kan Prize | — | — | Kikuchi Kan Prize Committee | 受賞 |
| 1964 | Mainichi Culture Award | — | — | Mainichi Shimbun | 受賞 |
Minister of Education Award
1947
Organization:
Ministry of Education
Result:
受賞
Mainichi Drama Award
1949
Organization:
Mainichi Shimbun
Result:
受賞
Japan Art Academy Prize
1950
Category:
舞台装置における業績
Organization:
Japan Art Academy
Result:
受賞
Mainichi Film Awards — Art Direction
1953
Work:
Gan; Ugetsu Monogatari
Category:
美術賞
Organization:
Mainichi Film Awards (Mainichi Shimbun)
Result:
受賞
Kikuchi Kan Prize
1962
Organization:
Kikuchi Kan Prize Committee
Result:
受賞
Mainichi Culture Award
1964
Organization:
Mainichi Shimbun
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Ugetsu Monogatari (Ugetsu)
1953 FilmDirected by Kenji Mizoguchi (1953). Ito Kisaku served as art director, creating atmospheric, period-accurate sets that contributed to the film's ethereal tone.
etherealitydeath and atonementhuman relationships in the Edo period
Translations
- English title: Ugetsu Monogatari (Ugetsu)
Gan (The Wild Geese)
1953 FilmDirected by Shiro Toyoda (1953). Ito served as art director, shaping the film's visual environments and production design.
human relationshipssocial constraints
Translations
- English title: Gan (The Wild Geese)
Sansho the Bailiff
1954 FilmDirected by Kenji Mizoguchi (1954). As art director, Ito built substantial sets that reflected the film's historical and folktale elements.
feudal oppressionparent-child bondshuman suffering
Translations
- English title: Sansho the Bailiff
The Barbarian and the Geisha (Black Ships)
1959 Film (international co-production)Directed by John Huston (1959), a US–Japan co-production. Ito served as art advisor, assisting in the film's depiction of late-Edo period settings.
cross-cultural exchangelate-Edo period history
Translations
- English title: The Barbarian and the Geisha
Studies of Stage Design
1941 BookA theoretical study on stage design discussing construction of stage devices and model stages; one of his representative writings on stage art.
theatre theorymodel stages
Bibliography
- Studies of Stage Design (Koyama Shoten, 1941)
- Ten Lectures on Traveling Theatre (Kenbunsha, 1942)
- Study of Traveling Theatre (Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Publishing Division, 1943)
- Acting Technique (translation/ed. of Ferdinand Gregory; publication year unspecified)
- Stories of Stage Design (Bijutsu Shuppansha, 1951)
- Thirty Years of Stage Design (Chikuma Shobo, 1955)
- Stage Art (Asahi Shimbun, 1963)
- 1930 Kisaku Ito Art Collection (Wise Publishing, 1994)
Translations by Author
- Acting (Ferdinand Gregory; translated and edited by Kisaku Ito)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- compositional and structural stage design based on model stagesart direction emphasizing historical authenticity and realism
- Recurring Motifs
- miniature modelsfusion of traditional aesthetics and modern techniquesclear spatial composition
Legacy
A pioneering figure in both stage and film art direction who left a significant legacy. He became a member of the Japan Art Academy and is commemorated by the Kisaku Ito Award. He influenced stage and film production design in Japan from the prewar through postwar periods.
Academic Societies
- Japan Art Academy
- Japan Theatre Association
In Popular Culture
- Kisaku Ito Award (a prize recognizing achievements in stage design)
- Influence on art direction in 1950s Japanese cinema
Trivia
- Born as the fourth son of architect Ito Tamekichi.
- Brother was dancer Itō Michirō; another sibling was theatre figure Chida Koreya. His daughter Ito Hiroko became an actress.
- Buried at Somei Cemetery (Somei Reien).
- Won the Mainichi Film Awards Art Direction prize in 1953 for Gan and Ugetsu Monogatari.