Background
Fujimori Shizuo (藤森静雄 1891-1943) born in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, lost his right thumb in a childhood accident, but nevertheless was able to carve woodblocks starting in the 1910s. He enrolled in the Hakubakai Institute of Western Painting in 1910, where he became friends with Tanaka Kyôkichi. He was accepted into the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1911 (graduated 1916), where early on he met Onchi Kôshirô. Together, the three young artists produced the seminal poetry and print magazine Tsukuhae ("Reflection of the Moon" or "Moonglow": 月映), issued from September 1914 until November 1915, when Tanaka's premature early death ended the project after seven issues. They called themselves Bishôha no sanin ("Three men of the smile school": 微笑派の三人), parodying the many artists' groups and associations that dominated the official art world. Their magazine featured both figurative and abstract prints. Apparently, during this period, the expressionism that was central to Onchi and Tanaka influenced Fujimori, whose designs (a total of 37 for Tsukuhae) incorporated the early style that the two more adventurous artists were pursuing.
Fujimori studied with the yôga (Western-style: 洋画) painters Kuroda Seiki (黒田清輝 1866-1924) and Fujishima Takei (藤島武二 1867-1943), and was inspired by another yôga painter, Shigeru Aoki (青木繁 1882-1911). For a few years, Fujimori taught in middle schools on Taiwan (where he gave lessons in block carving to Yamaguchi Gen) and in Fukuoka, but then moved to Tokyo in 1922 to work as a full-time artist. In 1939 he returned to live in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, where he remained until his death in 1943.
Fujimori contributed 13 designs to the "One hundred views of New Tokyo" (
Shin Tokyo hyakkei: 新東京百景). The series was published from 1928 to 1932 on a subscription basis by the Takujô (Table Group) through Nakajima Jûtarô of the Sôsaku Hanga Club. All eight artists represented in the series were members of
Nihon Sôsaku Hanga Kyôkai (Japan Creative Print Association, est. 1918) as well as founding members of
Nihon Hanga Kyôkai (1931).
The 100 Views documented Shôwa era lifestyle as well as the rapidly modernizing city.
For more about this artist, see the Fujimori Biography on John Fiorillo's website.
Design
Yasukuni Shrine, founded in 1869, is located in Kudankita, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. What distinguishes Yasukuni is its dedication not to the usual Shintô deities, but to the spirits of those who have died fighting for the emperor since 1853. It enshrines over 2,466,000 "heroic spirits," mainly the dead of foreign wars and the martyrs of national affairs before and after the Meiji Restoration. These include deities of the Boshin War (1868-69), Seinan Rebellion (1877), Sino Japanese War (1894-95), Russo Japanese War (1904-05) , World War I (1914-18), Manchurian Incident (1931), and the Pacific War (WWII, 1941-45). The inclusion, in 1978, of fourteen names of convicted war criminals (WWII) has led to repeated political controversies. Some see the museum as a symbol of Japan’s glorious military tradition; others of a brutal and oppressive past. Even so, the shrine remains one of the most visited and respected shrines in Japan.
The view in Fujimori's print depicts the statue of Ômura Masujirô (大村益次郎 1825-1869) at the central approach to the Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社). The roof-line of the shrine can be seen just beyond the large Torii gate on the right. Ômura was a Japanese politician, military officer, physician, and scholar at the end of the Edo period. He is considered to be one of the ten great figures of the Meiji Restoration. Among many other appointments and honors, on June 2, 1869, he was awarded a permanent stipend of 1,500 koku for his achievements in the Boshin War and became an executive in the new government. Ômura drew up a blueprint of plans for the reconstruction of the Japanese military, some of which would be implemented years later. These included the abolition of various feudal domains, the implementation of the Sword Abolition Order, the enactment of conscription orders, the establishment of military bases, and the training of professional soldiers through new military academies. All this was anathema to those siding with the recently deposed shogunate. On September 3, 1869, Ômura and two others were attacked by eight assassins who vehemently opposed any radical reforms centering on the military system. Ômura survived temporarily, but ultimately succumbed to his wounds on November 1, 1869.
Soon after Ômura's death, a bronze statue, 12 meters high, was cast in his honor by the eminent sculptor Ôkuma Ujihiro (大熊氏廣 1856-1934). The statue — the first Western-style sculpture in Japan — was placed in the monumental entry to Yasukuni Shrine.
The complete set of Shin Tokyo hyakkei (One hundred views of New Tokyo: 新東京百景) is held by the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (89.28.67.3.A).
Our impression of Fujimori's Yasukuni-jinja is very good, with unfaded color and good margins.
References:
- Austin, James: Ukiyo-e Art A Journal of the Japan Ukiyo-e Society, No. 14, 1966.
- Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art (acc. no. 89.28.67.10).
- Onchi, Koshiro, "The Modern Japanese Print: An Internal History of the Sosaku Hanga Movement," trans. U. Osamu and C. H. Mitchell, in: Ukiyo-e geijutsu, no. 11, 1965, p. 23.
- Merritt and Yamada: Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints, 1900-1975. University of Hawaii Press, 1992, pp. 18-19.
Return to