片岡球子

Born in Sapporo-ku (the present Sapporo-shi), Hokkaido on January 5, 1905 (Meiji 38). She was the eldest daughter (the first child of eight children) of father, Kataoka Kisaburō, and mother, Taga. Her parents were from Okayama, but they moved to Sapporo, where her father’s elder brother ran a sake brewery, and were successful in the brewing industry. In 1923 (Taishō 12), Tamako completed the regular teachers’ course at Hokkaido Prefectural Sapporo Girls’ High School (the present Sapporo Kita Senior High School) and obtained a regular elementary school teacher’s license. When she entered the Girls’ High School, she originally intended to become a physician. However, encouraged by a friend who saw that Kataoka was good at sketching from nature, she decided to become a nihonga (Japanese-style painting) artist. Kataoka then went to Tokyo and entered the advanced nihonga course at the Private Women’s School of Fine Arts (the present Joshibi University of Art and Design). While attending the School, she also became a disciple of the nihonga painter Yoshimura Tadao (1898–1952), and had drawing lessons with the yōga (Western-style painting) artist Tomita On’ichirō (1887–1954). Upon graduation, while teaching at Yokohama Municipal Ōoka Jinjō Shōgakkō (the present Ōoka Elementary School) to make a living, she continued submitting works to the Teiten (Imperial Fine Arts Academy Exhibition), but kept being rejected. Taken under the wing of Nakajima Kiyoshi (1899–1989), who belonged to Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute), Kataoka aimed to have her work accepted at the Inten (Japan Art Institute Exhibition) and, as a consequence, got expelled by her teacher Yoshimura Tadao. In 1930 (Shōwa 5), at age 25, based on sketching and employing traditional colors and techniques, she submitted “Loquat” (Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art) to the 17th Saikō Inten (Reorganized Japan Art Institute Exhibition) held at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, and it was accepted for the first time. Thereafter, she became a research member at Japan Art Institute and produced works subtly portraying people close to her. However, her works were continuously rejected at the Saikō Inten Exhibitions, and she was nicknamed “master of rejection.” In 1939 (Shōwa 14), “Ryokuin” (In the Shade of a Tree) (Yokohama Museum of Art), a painting made with her students as the models, was submitted to the 26th Saikō Inten Exhibition and was accepted. As a consequence, Kataoka was recommended and became a fellow of Japan Art Institute. In 1942 (Shōwa 17), she produced “Kitō no sō” (Priest Praying) (Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art) for a study meeting on paintings held by the Art Institute, for which the theme was “Grand.” With an ascetic as her model, she depicted a distinctive figure overflowing with vigor, an idea she had been mulling over for a long time. This painting won the Japan Art Institute/Taikan Award, and Kataoka received stirring remarks from Kobayashi Kokei (1883–1957), a member of the Art Institute. In 1946 (Shōwa 21), on the advice of Nakajima Kiyoshi, Kataoka became a pupil of Yasuda Yukihiko, who belonged to Japan Art Institute, and devoted herself to studying painting. In those days, postwar nihonga reached a turning point, and the situation surrounding nihonga was problematic faced with a “nihonga metsubōron” (debate on the collapse of nihonga) etc. Kataoka continued training, for example, by learning drawing to depict the skeletal structure of human beings from Yamamoto Toyoichi (1899–1987), a member of the Sculpture Section of Japan Art Institute, in 1951 (Shōwa 26), and kept on receiving awards at the Inten Exhibitions. In 1952 (Shōwa 27), Kataoka submitted “Bijutsubu nite” (At the Art Club) (private collection) to the 37th Saikō Inten Exhibition. The explanatorily depicted background, the accurately captured figures, and the design demonstrated a meticulously fastidious style. It was awarded the Japan Art Institute/Taikan Award, and Kataoka became a member of Japan Art Institute. In 1953 (Shōwa 28), she submitted “Cannas” (The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama), a painting composed of bold forms and bright colors, to the 38th Saikō Inten Exhibition. Thereafter, this individuality was emphasized. In 1954 (Shōwa 29), she submitted “Shiiku” (Raising Chicken) (Yokohama Municipal Ōoka Elementary School) to the 1st Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum). The color contrast and overlaying of short brushstrokes revealed Kataoka’s interest in Post-Impressionism, and together with her strong dedication to portraiture expressed as clear-cut, deformed figures, showed a distinct change in her artistic style. Kataoka submitted “Kabuki nanbanji monzen shoken” (private collection) to the 39th Saikō Inten Exhibition in 1954 (Shōwa 29). Through arrangements made by Art Institute member Maeda Seison, Kataoka was able to do plenty of research at Kabukiza Theatre including receiving advice from the actors and absorbing their postures. In 1955 (Shōwa 30), she retired from the elementary school she had taught at for twenty-nine years, and in order to concentrate on painting, she became a full-time lecturer at the Japanese Painting Department of her alma mater, Joshibi University of Art and Design. There, she extended her subjects to traditional performing arts from kabuki to “noh” and “gagaku,” which were to become major themes for her in later years, and produced “Katsugyō” (Great Longing) (1960 [Shōwa 35], The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) and “Gensō” (Fantasy) (1961 [Shōwa 31], The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama). Lying in the background of these powerful pictures was Kataoka’s spirit of inquiry resulting from elaborate research on costumes and design. In 1961 (Shōwa 36), she was awarded the 11th Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize and became a councilor of Japan Art Institute. Her first solo exhibition entitled “Sea: Japanese-style Paintings by Kataoka Tamako” was held at Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo in 1959 (Shōwa 34). The raging, forceful waves based on sketches demonstrate Kataoka’s individuality. Meanwhile, after sketching Mount Usu at Lake Tōya in Hokkaido in 1960 (Shōwa 35), she toured volcanoes all over Japan, submitted “Mt. Fuji” (1964 [Shōwa 39], Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art) to the 6th Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan, and presented “Volcano: Mt. Asama” (1965 [Shōwa 40], The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama). The powerful expressions revealing striking colors and vigorous brushwork were extended to Sakurajima and Mt. Myōgi, and eventually focused on the sacred Mount Fuji. In 1964 (Shōwa 39), Kataoka joined a nihonga study group formed by the art critic Hariu Ichirō (1925–2010) and the artists Nakamura Masayoshi (1924–1977), Yokoyama Misao (1920–1973), and Kayama Matazō (1927–2004). She submitted her works to an exhibition entitled “Kore ga nihonga da” (This is Japanese-style painting) (Gallery Nippon, Nihonbashi, Tokyo) three times and continued working with a wide field of vision. In 1966 (Shōwa 41), when Kataoka was sixty-one years old, Aichi University of the Arts was founded, and she became head of the Nihonga Department. This marked the beginning of the “Tsuragamae” (Countenance) series, which was to become her lifework. As her final work, she wanted to make at least the subject matter something that would leave an impression and somehow make pictures of the human soul. According to Kataoka, “I want to analyze historical figures with a contemporary eye and give form to them according to my own view.” (note 1) “Tsuragamae” were not mere copies of figures but a unique interpretation of each person made by Kataoka, to which she added flesh and blood. “Tsuragamae: Ashikaga Takauji,” “Tsuragamae: Ashikaga Yoshimitsu,” and “Tsuragamae: Ashikaga Yoshimasa” (all 1966 [Shōwa 41], The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama) were submitted to the 51st Saikō Inten Exhibition. Based on the wooden statues of the Ashikaga shoguns in Tōjiin temple in Kyoto, Kataoka inflated their personalities and likened them to the Yellow Acala, the Red Acala, and the Blue Acala. Each covering the entire image, these three great acalas leave the viewer with a striking impression. They were initially regarded as parodies or folkloric, and Kataoka was considered out-of-the-ordinary within the Inten. However, the way she captured human nature and her attitude of doing careful research on details of traditional formal costumes gradually gained recognition. Hariu Ichirō wrote, “Behind the seemingly decorative coloring, there is a determined physical strength capable of twisting all subjects down [. . .] and passion protruding all restraints.” (note 2) In addition to exhibiting at the Inten exhibitions, Kataoka was also invited to present her work at the 9th Bienal de São Paulo in 1967 (Shōwa 42). She moved her studio to Fujisawa-shi, and the models for her Tsuragamae series spread from feudal warlords, via sharp-eyed monks such as the statue of Nichiren at Odawara Jōeiji temple, to ukiyo-e artists. In 1971 (Shōwa 46), Kataoka submitted “Tsuragamae: Tōshūsai Sharaku,” and “Tsuragamae: Katsushika Hokusai” (both The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama) to the 56th Saikō Inten Exhibition. When Kataoka visited Paris, she saw female ukiyo-e portraits among Vincent van Gogh’s belongings left after his death. Commending the ukiyo-e artists’ talent and artistry, which motivated the Impressionist artists, she wrote, “They portrayed commoners of Edo and lived with all their might. [. . .] To me at present, these ukiyo-e artists are god-like existences.” (note 3) Cherishing such thoughts, she painted Tōshūsai Sharaku (dates unknown) and Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) with their best-known works in the background. “Tsuragamae: Chōbunsai Eishi” (The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama), which Kataoka submitted to the 59th Saikō Inten Exhibition in 1974 (Shōwa 49), is based on a portrait of Eishi and his best-known “bijinga” (picture of a beauty). The composition with a beauty dressed in a bright, glamorous costume and a large blank space gives rise to a distinctive feeling of tension amid the tranquility. This painting won the 31st Japan Art Academy Imperial Prize in 1975 (Shōwa 50). “Tsuragamae: Katsushika Hokusai and Takizawa Bakin” (Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art) produced for the 64th Saikō Inten Exhibition in 1979 (Shōwa 54) shows two contemporaneous geniuses, the ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai and the popular novelist Kyokutei (Takizawa) Bakin (1767–1848), with their respective works lined up in the background, enabling us to feel the atmosphere of the latter half of the Edo period. That year, “Kataoka Tamako — Vivid Depiction of Human Psychology—,” the first retrospective of her works composed of representative works beginning from the early years, was held at Ginza Matsuya, Tokyo. In 1982 (Shōwa 57), Kataoka became a member of Nihon Geijutsuin (Japan Art Academy). The combination of an ukiyo-e artist and a popular novelist was further developed into “Tsuragamae: Kyōgen Dramatist Kawatake Mokuami and Ukiyo-e Artist Toyokuni III” (1983 [Shōwa 58], the 68th Saikō Inten Exhibition, The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama), in which characters in the playwright’s work are arranged within the same space. The scene in which Mokuami and Toyokuni are discussing the gestures with the actors of “Shiranami gonin otoko” (The fates of five thieves) in front of them is brimming with energy and has a huge impact. Meanwhile, the tenaciously subtle depiction of the costumes demonstrates Kataoka’s extraordinary enthusiasm and obsession, making this possibly the finest example of the Tsuragamae series. The reason Kataoka depicted ukiyo-e artists was influenced in part by the immense reference materials provided by the ukiyo-e scholar Suzuki Jūzō (1979–2010). In respect for Suzuki, Kataoka included him in “Tsuragamae: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Ukiyo-e Artist) and Suzuki Jūzō (Ukiyo-e Scholar)” (1988 [Shōwa 63], the 73rd Saikō Inten Exhibition, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art). In 1989 (Heisei 1), Kataoka was awarded the Order of Culture. In 2008 (Heisei 20), her 103-year-long life came to an end. Perceiving the eras with acute sensitivity, the subject of Kataoka’s Tsuragamae series shifted from feudal warlords and ukiyo-e artists to Sesshū. In order to portray Sesshū, she explored sumi ink painting with constant enthusiasm to learn, and continued striving. With Japan Art Institute at the core of her activities, Kataoka continued submitting works to the Inten exhibitions for more than sixty years. Whereas the expressions of each figure were painted in one go without hesitation, the costumes were painted with subtle precision. Works unfolding such contrast showed overwhelming energy, vivid colors, and dauntless forms, which cut open a style of Kataoka’s own. She submitted “Female Nude” to the Spring Inten and produced masterworks including “Offering Flowers to Mt. Fuji” (1990 [Heisei 2], private collection), in which, together with fresh flowers, magnificent colors are unfolded with Mount Fuji as the subject matter. The look on the countenance of “Tsuragamae: Kuwagata Keisai” (2004 [Heisei 16], private collection) produced in the artist’s later years changed from a piercing eye to a gaze cast toward the distance. Her oeuvre, into which Kataoka continued to pour all her energy and strength, also seems to be narrating the turbulent Shōwa era she lived through. (Otsuka Yasuko / Translated by Ogawa Kikuko) (Published online: 2024-05-15) Notes: 1. “‘Tsuragamae’ ni idomu, ikizama o miru,” “Nihon bijutsu” 135, Nihon Bijutsu Shinsha, December 1976. 2. “Geijutsu shinchō,” 202, October 1966. 3. “‘Tsuragamae’ ni idomu, ikizama o miru.”