Japanese Literary Awards

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Tarō Okamoto

おかもと たろう

Taro Okamoto

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1911-02-26 （Futako, Takatsu Village, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (now Futako, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki)）
Died
1996-01-07 （Shinanomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan (Keio University Hospital)） age 84
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
artist, writer
Active Years
1930-1996
Influenced By
Ippei Okamoto, Kanoko Okamoto, Marcel Mauss, Pablo Picasso, Mircea Eliade, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros
Influenced
Gerda Taro (noted as influenced), Many contemporary Japanese artists and designers

Education

Tokyo School of Fine Arts (former)
Oil Painting (left before graduation)
Period: 1929（入学） - 中退
Country: Japan
Entered but did not complete; later formative study and activity took place in France
University of Paris (Sorbonne)
Philosophy / Aesthetics / Ethnology (auditor) / Philosophy / Ethnology (auditor)
Period: 1930年代（主に1932–1940頃滞在・聴講）
Country: France
No formal degree confirmed. Attended lectures including those by Marcel Mauss.

Awards

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officier)
1984
Organization: Government of France
Result: 受章
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Commandeur)
1989
Organization: Government of France
Result: 受章
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
1961
Work: The Forgotten Japan — Okinawan Cultural Theory
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Buzzword Award (Quoted Phrase)
1981
Work: "Art is explosion" (famous phrase)
Organization: Buzzword Award Organizers
Result: 受賞（語録賞）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Wounded Arm

1936 oil painting / painting

An influential oil painting from his stay in France, showing Surrealist and abstract influences; considered an important early work.

sufferingphysicalityprimitive imagery

Myth of Tomorrow

1968 mural (large-scale oil painting)

A large mural created during his stay in Mexico addressing themes of war and renewal; after being lost and later restored, it has been publicly exhibited and reappraised.

warregenerationmythic quality

Tower of the Sun

1970 sculpture / architectural monument

An iconic monumental work created as the theme pavilion for Expo '70 in Osaka; preserved in the Expo Commemoration Park and regarded as one of his masterpieces.

sunfestivitypublic art

Bibliography

  • Today's Art
  • Youthful Picasso
  • Japan's Tradition
  • The Forgotten Japan — Okinawan Cultural Theory
  • Keep Poison in Yourself

Adaptations

  • Film 'Uchujin Tokyo ni Arawaru' - color direction / design collaboration

Style & Themes

Literary Style
provocative, declarative voicedidactic, essayistic expression
Recurring Motifs
sunprimitive / Jomon motifsfaces / masks

Health

  • Parkinson's disease
    晩年
    Affected his health in later years and contributed to acute respiratory failure at the end of his life.

Legacy

Through public sculptures, murals, and accessible writings, he became a leading figure of postwar Japanese art. Works such as 'Tower of the Sun' and 'Myth of Tomorrow' remain widely known, and the phrase "Art is explosion" entered popular culture.

Museums

  • Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki Ikuta Ryokuchi, Tama-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan Opened in 1999
  • Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo (former residence & studio) Opened in 1998

Archives

  • Archive at Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki
  • Collections at Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum

In Popular Culture

  • "Art is explosion" became a widely quoted popular phrase
  • Re-evaluations through TV, commercials and exhibitions have kept his recognition across generations

Quotes

  • Art is explosion
    Source: Television appearances / commercials (widely quoted) (1981)
  • Death is a festival
    Source: Statement (later years)

Trivia

  • Height 156 cm
  • Blood type O
  • Designed the obverse of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics participation medal
  • Created many public monuments during his life and has been reappraised posthumously