Japanese Literary Awards

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Iri Maruki

まるき いり

Maruki Iri

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1901-06-20 （Iimuro Village, Asa District, Hiroshima Prefecture (now Asakita Ward, Hiroshima City)）
Died
1995-10-19 （Higashimatsuyama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan） age 94
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Iimuro Village, Asa District, Hiroshima (birthplace) → Osaka (attended Seika Art Institute) → Tokyo (Ikebukuro artist quarter and residence) → Katase, Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture → Higashimatsuyama, Saitama Prefecture (established Maruki Museum and final residence)

Career

Occupations
Nihonga painter, painter, children's book illustrator
Active Years
1928-1995
Affiliations
Japanese Communist Party (joined, later expelled), Japan Art Association, Avant-Garde Art Association
Memberships
Avant-Garde Art Association (founding participant), Japan Art Association (member/participant)
Influenced By
Surrealism, Ryushi Kawabata
Influenced
Postwar Japanese peace-art and antiwar-expression artists
Nominations
Nobel Peace Prize nominee (recommended in 1995)

Education

Seika Art Institute
Design / Decorative Arts
Period: 1919（在籍・途中帰郷あり）
Country: Japan
Left studies at times due to ill health (beriberi) and returned home
Meiro Art Workshop (led by Ochiai Rofu)
Nihonga / Japanese painting studies
Period: 1934頃（通学）
Country: Japan
Studied under and associated with contemporary artists; exhibited works

Awards

International Peace Prize (Golden Medal)
1953
Work: The Hiroshima Murals (collaboration with Toshi Maruki)
Organization: World Peace Council
Result: 受賞
Excellence Award (6th Japan International Art Exhibition)
1961
Work: Garyubai (Sleeping Dragon Plum)
Organization: Japan International Art Exhibition
Result: 受賞
Sofia Special Prize
1979
Work: From the Tripartite Pact to the Sanrizuka Struggle
Organization: Bulgaria International Figurative Art Exhibition (3rd Anti-Fascism Triennale)
Result: 受賞（作品寄贈）
Saitama Prefectural Honorary Award
1995
Organization: Saitama Prefecture
Result: 受賞
Asahi Prize
1996
Work: The Hiroshima Murals (collaboration with Toshi Maruki)
Organization: The Asahi Shimbun Company
Result: 受賞（追贈・事実上の受賞）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Hiroshima Murals

1950 Series of murals / historical painting

A series of monumental murals by Iri and Toshi Maruki depicting the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The works document atomic-bomb suffering and convey a strong anti-war, peace-oriented message.

atomic bombingwar and sufferinghuman painmemory and testimony
Adaptations
  • [film] The Hiroshima Murals (film) / 今井正 / 青山通春 (1953)
  • [documentary film] Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima / ジャン・ユンカーマン / ジョン・W・ダワー等 (1986)
Translations
  • The Hiroshima Murals / The Art of Iri Maruki and Toshi Maruki

Garyubai (Sleeping Dragon Plum)

1961 Nihonga / ink painting

A large-scale ink painting exemplifying Iri Maruki's avant-garde nihonga approach. Awarded at the 6th Japan International Art Exhibition and held by the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

natural motifsfusion of tradition and avant-garde

Bibliography

  • Chibifude (with Toshi Maruki), 1954
  • Anyone Can Paint (with Toshi Maruki), 1954
  • Pikadon (Iri & Toshi Maruki), 1950
  • Ryuryu-Henreki: Iri Maruki Art and Essays, 1988
  • Path of Consolation: Hiroshima, Minamata, Okinawa (with Toshi Maruki), 1984

Adaptations

  • Film 'The Hiroshima Murals' (1953)
  • Film 'Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima' (1986)
  • Film 'Minamata: A Story' (1981)

Translations of Works

  • THE HIROSHIMA MURALS—The Art of Iri Maruki and Toshi Maruki

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Avant-garde ink techniques rooted in nihonga traditionLarge-scale muralistic works produced collaboratively
Recurring Motifs
atomic bombing and its effectsrecords of war and massacrehuman suffering and resilience

Legacy

Iri Maruki, often collaborating with his wife Toshi Maruki, profoundly influenced both domestic and international perceptions of the atomic bomb through The Hiroshima Murals. He visualized the memory of atomic-bomb suffering and became a symbol of anti-war and peace art. He and his wife established the Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels, creating a lasting institution for education and remembrance.

Museums

  • Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels Higashimatsuyama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan Opened in 1967
  • The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (holds 'Garyubai') Tokyo, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japan Art Association
  • Avant-Garde Art Association

Archives

  • Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels (archives, catalogues)

In Popular Culture

  • Films and exhibitions that reintroduced and evaluated the works
  • Influence on children's literature and picture books such as 'Pikadon'

Trivia

  • Best known for the collaborative 'The Hiroshima Murals' with his wife Toshi Maruki.
  • Received the World Peace Council Golden Medal in 1953.
  • Established the Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels in Higashimatsuyama (open from 1967).
  • Was recommended as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 (did not win).
  • His mother Suma Maruki began her painting career late in life.