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Kohito Kudo

くどう こうじん

Kudo Kohito

Aliases: 工藤儀助
Pen Names: Kohito Kudo（Pen name used in his artistic career; birth name was Gisuke Kudo.）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1915-07-30 （Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan）
Died
2011-07-29 （Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan） age 95
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan → Tokyo, Japan (moved to Tokyo in 1934) → Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan → Okinawa Prefecture, Japan (visiting professor)

Career

Occupations
painter, Nihonga (Japanese-style) painter, art educator, professor, visiting professor
Active Years
1934-2011
Affiliations
Soga-kai (Soga Association), Tokyo University of the Arts (Professor Emeritus), Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts (Visiting Professor)
Memberships
Soga-kai (Soga Association)
Influenced By
Fukuda Toyoshirō, Okamura Aien (name rendered in sources)

Education

Kawabata Art School
Nihonga Department / Nihonga Painting Department
Period: 1935年入学（在籍期間不詳）
Country: Japan
Studied under Okamura Aien and Fukuda Toyoshirō.

Awards

Shinseisaku Association Nihonga New Artist Award
1951
Organization: Shinseisaku Association
Result: 受賞
Shinseisaku Association Nihonga New Artist Award
1956
Organization: Shinseisaku Association
Result: 受賞
Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art Prize
1963
Organization: Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art
Result: 受賞
Contemporary Japanese Art Exhibition Excellence Award
1964
Organization: Contemporary Japanese Art Exhibition
Result: 受賞
Art and Culture Promotion Association Prize
1982
Organization: Art and Culture Promotion Association
Result: 受賞
Arts Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education)
1988
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (4th class)
1989
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Mainichi Art Award
1992
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Honorary Citizen of Hirosaki
1996
Organization: Hirosaki City
Result: 授与

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Shigen

1976 Nihonga (Japanese-style painting)

A large paper-and-color work using delicate linework to depict insects and plants, surrounded by broad monochrome fields of mineral pigment such as ultramarine. The decorative composition creates a dreamlike, visionary atmosphere. Size: 116.5×79.9 cm (framed).

natureinsectsdreamlike imagerynostalgiareligious feeling

Meya no Keiryū

Nihonga (Japanese-style painting)

A work depicting a mountain stream (part of a series). Features meticulous linework contrasted with simplified color fields, capturing nostalgia and the breath of nature.

mountain streamnaturemeticulous depiction

Bibliography

  • Shigen (1976)
  • Meya no Keiryū
  • Kohito Kudo: Collected Works (selections and exhibition catalogues)

Adaptations

  • Kohito Kudo Exhibition: Between Dream and Awakening (exhibition)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
combines delicate linework with broad monochrome color fieldsdecorative compositionsvivid use of mineral pigments such as ultramarinedreamlike, often religiously evocative imagery
Recurring Motifs
insectssmall animalsplant leavesultramarine color fieldsnostalgic landscapes

Legacy

Kohito Kudo is regarded as a painter who opened new expressive possibilities in modern Nihonga through delicate linework and strong mineral-pigment color fields. His works are held in major museum collections in Japan and abroad, and he influenced subsequent generations through long teaching service at Tokyo University of the Arts and as a visiting professor in Okinawa.

Museums

  • British Museum London, United Kingdom
  • The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Tokyo, Japan
  • The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto Kyoto, Japan
  • Yamatane Museum of Art Tokyo, Japan
  • Hiratsuka City Museum Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan
  • Hirosaki City Museum Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan
  • Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design Toyama, Japan
  • Tokyo University of the Arts Museum Tokyo, Japan
  • Aomori Museum of Art Aomori, Japan
  • Tachineputa Museum (Goshogawara) Goshogawara, Aomori, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Soga-kai (Soga Association)

Archives

  • The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties archive database
  • Tokyo University of the Arts Museum collections/archives

Quotes

  • He is known for delicately depicting insects, small animals, and plant leaves with fine linework, surrounding them with large monochrome fields of mineral pigment such as ultramarine, producing decorative compositions.
    Source: Wikipedia (Kohito Kudo) (2011)

Trivia

  • Birth name was Gisuke Kudo.
  • In 2002 a work of his displayed at the Kanagawa Prefectural Office was stolen (some pieces remain missing).
  • Named an honorary citizen of Hirosaki in 1996.
  • Died of natural causes in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa on 29 July 2011 at age 95.