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Kumada Chikabo

くまだ ちかぼ

Kumada Chikabo

Pen Names: Goro Kumada（Birth name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1911-07-21 （Sumiyoshi-cho, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
Died
2009-08-13 （At home (Yokohama, Japan)） age 98
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Yokohama (Sumiyoshi-cho) → Namamugi (Yokohama) → Tsurumi (Yokohama) → Tokyo (work / production)

Career

Occupations
Graphic designer, Picture book artist, Illustrator, Children's painter, Painter
Active Years
1929-2009
Influenced By
Miyashiro Shusuke, Takamura Toyoshū, Yamana Fumio

Education

Kanagawa Prefectural Technical School (Design course)
Design course
Period: 1924頃 - 不明
Country: Japan
While attending, he was influenced by natural history teaching, forming the basis of his nature-observation-based style.
Tokyo School of Fine Arts (old system), Casting department
Casting department
Period: 1929頃 - 不明
Country: Japan
Received training in form-making, cultivating precise depiction and a sense of form.

Awards

Children's Book Design Award
1949
Work: Mitsubachi no Kuni no Alice
Result: 受賞
Bologna International Children's Book Fair - Illustration Exhibition (Selected)
1981
Work: Works from Fabre's Insect Chronicles
Organization: Bologna Children's Book Fair / Illustration Exhibition
Result: 入選
Bologna International Children's Book Fair - Illustration Exhibition (Selected)
1983
Work: Works from Fabre's Insect Chronicles
Organization: Bologna Children's Book Fair / Illustration Exhibition
Result: 入選
Shogakukan Children's Publication Culture Award (Painting Award)
1989
Work: Kumada Chikabo's Little World (complete 7 volumes)
Organization: Shogakukan
Result: 受賞
Yokohama City Cultural Award
1991
Organization: Yokohama City
Result: 受賞
Kanagawa Prefecture Cultural Award
1996
Organization: Kanagawa Prefecture
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mitsubachi no Kuni no Alice

1949 Picture book

An early picture book work weaving love for nature and insects; gained attention for its illustrations centered on bees.

InsectsNatureChildren

Fabre's Insect Chronicles (Picture book series)

1981 Picture book / Natural history

A series based on Jean-Henri Fabre's Insect Chronicles, featuring detailed miniature paintings of insects and gentle narration.

Insect observationNature educationDetailed depiction

Kumada Chikabo's Little World (7-volume set)

1988 Picture book / Pictorial natural history

A series themed on flowers, insects, and small lives. Noted for its precise and delicate depictions, highly regarded domestically and internationally.

FlowersInsectsSmall lives

Bibliography

  • Hana to Alice
  • Fabre's Insect Chronicles, Vol.1 (picture book)
  • Fabre's Insect Chronicles, Vol.2 (picture book)
  • Fabre's Insect Chronicles, Vol.3 (picture book)
  • Fabre's Insects 1
  • Fabre's Insects 2
  • Fabre's Insects 3
  • Fabre's Insects 4
  • Insects of Japan
  • Mitsubachi Alice
  • Flower Fantasy
  • Memories of Flowers
  • Puck's Flower Journey
  • Creatures of Fabre's Insect Chronicles (series)
  • Loving Flowers - The World of Kumada Chikabo
  • Because I Love, It's Beautiful: Chikabo's Flower Art Collection
  • Fairy Puck's Flower Journey: Chikabo's Fantasy World
  • Fairy Tale World 1
  • Fairy Tale World 2
  • Land of Flowers, Land of Insects: Kumada Chikabo's Science-based Art Picture Books
  • Kumachika-sensei's Pictorial Encyclopedia Collection
  • Winds of the Field, Winds of Flowers: Kumada Chikabo's Science-based Art Picture Books
  • Chikabo's Yokohama Dandy Boy Chronicles
  • Chikabo's Yokohama Dandy Youth Chronicles
  • Chikabo's Yokohama Dandy Poor Chronicles
  • I Am an Insect - Words of Kumada Chikabo
  • Kumada Chikabo's Kumachika Insect Chronicles
  • Chikabo's Dandy Life Chronicle

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Highly detailed miniature-style illustrationsRealistic yet warm touchA scientific perspective based on nature observation
Recurring Motifs
InsectsFlowersSmall livesSlow life

Health

  • Poor health (around 1937)
    1937頃
    After around 1937, activities with Nihon Kobo were limited.
  • Aspiration pneumonia
    2009年8月（致命）
    Died at home in August 2009 from aspiration pneumonia.

Legacy

Known for finely detailed paintings of flowers and insects, Kumada received domestic and international recognition. Through exhibitions, catalogs, and educational picture books, he influenced subsequent picture-book artists and nature-education practices.

Museums

  • Matsuya Ginza (exhibition venue) Ginza, Chuo Ward, Tokyo, Japan
  • Itami City Museum of Art (exhibition venue) Itami, Hyogo, Japan
  • Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of Modern Art (exhibition venue) Mito, Ibaraki, Japan

Archives

  • Tobunken Archive Database
  • NHK Archives (profile)

In Popular Culture

  • NHK documentary 'A Painter Living in an Insect Village — Kumada Chikabo at 93'
  • Affectionately known as 'Petit Fabre'

Quotes

  • I am an insect
    Source: I Am an Insect - Words of Kumada Chikabo (book / art collection) (2010)

Trivia

  • Birth name was Goro Kumada.
  • Collaborated with photographer Domon Ken on many layouts for the magazine 'NIPPON'.
  • Affectionately nicknamed 'Petit Fabre' for works inspired by Fabre's Insect Chronicles.
  • Died in 2009 at the age of 98.