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Setsuko Migishi

みぎし せつこ

Migishi Setsuko

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1905-01-03 （Koshin-Nakajima Village, Nakajima District, Aichi Prefecture, Japan (now Ichinomiya)）
Died
1999-04-18 （Oiso, Naka District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan） age 94
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, French
Residence History
Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan (birthplace) → Tokyo, Japan (moved to study and work) → France (Cagnes-sur-Mer, Véron, etc.) → Oiso, Naka District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (later life)

Career

Occupations
Western-style painter, Author, Essayist
Active Years
1924-1999
Affiliations
Shinseisaku-kai (New Creation Association), Women's Artists Association (founding initiator), Independent Art Association (participated; later left)
Memberships
Shinseisaku-kai (New Creation Association), Women's Artists Association
Influenced By
Saburōsuke Okada, Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque

Education

Hongo Western Painting Institute
Period: 1920年代（在籍時期不詳）
Country: Japan
Studied under Saburōsuke Okada
Joshibi Art School (now Joshibi University of Art and Design)
Period: 1922-1924
Year of Graduation: 1924
Country: Japan
Transferred in and graduated top of class

Awards

1st Geinō Senshō (Minister of Education Award)
1951
Organization: Ministry of Education (then)
Result: 受賞
Order of the Precious Crown, Third Class
1986
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Asahi Prize
1990
Organization: Asahi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Person of Cultural Merit
1994
Organization: Government of Japan (Agency for Cultural Affairs, etc.)
Result: 選出
Honorary Citizen of Bisai City
1988
Organization: Bisai City
Result: 推挙

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Daughter's Days

1952 Western-style painting

Depicts mother and daughter and everyday scenes in bright colors.

familywomeneveryday life

Venice

1973 Western-style painting (landscape)

A colorful depiction of the cityscape of Venice, Italy.

landscapecityscapelight and color

Flying Bird

1973 Western-style painting

Uses birds as a motif symbolizing freedom and vitality.

freedomlifesymbolism

On the Cliff (Andalusia)

1987 Western-style painting (landscape)

One of her later major works, depicting a landscape in Andalusia, Spain.

travellandscapeMediterranean

Flowers (series)

1973 Western-style painting (still life / series)

A lifelong series of flower paintings exploring vitality and color.

flowersvitalitycolor

Self-portrait

1924 Western-style painting (self-portrait)

An early work showing self-expression in her youth.

self-portraitearly career

The Cherry Blossoms Have Bloomed

1998 Western-style painting (flowers)

A late-period flower painting exhibited in the 1998 return exhibition.

flowerslate periodretrospective

Invitation to Travel (European Sketches 1954-1989)

1997 Artbook / Sketchbook

A collection of sketches and landscape studies made during her years in Europe.

travelsketcheslandscape

Bibliography

  • Wings of the Divine: Essay Collection (Asahi Shimbun, 1949)
  • Setsuko Migishi (Bijutsu-shuppansha, Japanese Contemporary Painters series No.8, 1954)
  • More Flower than Flower (Kyuryudo, 1977)
  • Setsuko Migishi Art Collection [Vol.1] (1925-1979) (Kyuryudo, 1980)
  • Setsuko Migishi Art Collection [Vol.2] (1938-1980) (Kyuryudo, 1981)
  • The Yellow Notebook (Kyuryudo, 1983)
  • Setsuko Migishi: Flower Sketchbook (Kyuryudo, 1984)
  • Setsuko Migishi Art Collection 1990 (Kyuryudo, 1990)
  • Setsuko Migishi Works Collection (Vision Kikaku, 1991)
  • Unfinished Flowers: Setsuko Migishi Art and Writings (Kyuryudo, 1994)
  • Flowers Are My Life: Selected Works and Writings (Kyuryudo, 1996)
  • Invitation to Travel: Setsuko Migishi European Sketches 1954-1989 (Kyuryudo, 1997)
  • Collected Works of Setsuko Migishi (various Kyuryudo volumes and others, 1990s)

Adaptations

  • Documentary 'Haruko and Setsuko: Beyond 'Women' Painters' (NHK BS1, 2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Vibrant color expressionInfluenced by modern French painting (Matisse, Bonnard, etc.)Clear forms with decorative sensibilities
Recurring Motifs
flowerslandscapesstill lifespraise of life

Health

  • Congenital dislocation of the hip (developmental dysplasia of the hip)
    幼少期から生涯
    Affected mobility but also served as part of the life circumstances that influenced her continued creative work.

Legacy

She contributed to the improved status of female Western-style painters across pre- and postwar Japan and is known for vibrant flower and landscape works. Her oeuvre and archives are preserved and exhibited at the Setsuko Migishi Memorial Museum.

Museums

  • Setsuko Migishi Memorial Museum Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan Opened in 1998
  • Hori Museum (holds some works) Nagoya, Japan (collection)

Academic Societies

  • Women's Artists Association
  • Shinseisaku-kai (New Creation Association)
  • Independent Art Association (involvement)

Archives

  • Setsuko Migishi Memorial Museum collection and archives
  • Hori Museum holdings (some provenance unclear)

In Popular Culture

  • NHK documentary 'Haruko and Setsuko: Beyond 'Women' Painters' (2023)

Trivia

  • First female Western-style painter selected as a Person of Cultural Merit (1994).
  • Continued her artistic career despite a congenital hip condition.
  • The Setsuko Migishi Memorial Museum opened on the site of her birthplace in 1998.
  • Some works formerly held at the Himalayan Museum were lost to dispersal, leaving major pieces' whereabouts unknown for a time.