[Chikugo Kurume and "Two Journeys" (Part 2)] (Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Former province name: Chikugo)
(Continued from Part 1)
After receiving the news of Aoki's death, Sakamoto mourned his so early and tragic death, and feared that Aoki's works would be scattered because he had severed ties with the art world, so he worked with his old friends to hold a retrospective of Aoki's work. He did his best to make his artistic career known to the world. Meanwhile, Sakamoto himself exhibited "Usurebi" (Fading Sun) at the 6th Bunten Exhibition in 1912. This work, which depicts a cow standing silently in the mountain ridge, was highly praised by Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) and instantly attracted public attention. From 1921, he studied in France for three years, absorbing the techniques of the Impressionist school. Combining a strict yet rich spirit underpinned by Eastern philosophy with the latest Western painting techniques, Sakamoto was expected to achieve great success in the central art world, but when he returned to Japan, he headed for his hometown of Kurume.
The reason Sakamoto deliberately avoided Tokyo, the central art world, and devoted himself to his work as an independent painter in Chikugo was not only due to his single-minded passion for hating distractions, but also perhaps the image of Aoki, who was at the mercy of the "evaluation" of the art world and fought to his death, came to mind. Sakamoto set up his lifelong studio in Yame near Kurume, and continued to roam the mountains and fields of Kyushu with a carefree gait, painting the horses that lived there. Sakamoto was convinced that "the whole picture of horses is poetry," and was able to sense the bond that horses create with people and the dignity that a horse's physique gives to the landscape, which led to the creation of masterpieces such as "Three Horses Grazing" (1932, first photo).
Bridgestone founder Ishibashi Shojiro (1889-1976) was an avid collector of Sakamoto's works. Ishibashi was one of Sakamoto's students when Sakamoto was a substitute art teacher at Kurume High School before moving to Tokyo, and despite their short period of master-disciple, Ishibashi had a deep respect for Sakamoto's personality. Not only did Ishibashi have a deep understanding of artworks, he also recognized his mission to make his own works widely available to the public, and at Sakamoto's request, he also collected Aoki's posthumous works. When Ishibashi Museum of Art was established in Kurume in 1956, its first exhibition was an exhibition of works by Aoki Shigeru and Sakamoto Jujiro, a fact that shows Ishibashi's respect for Sakamoto and Aoki and his deep love for his hometown.
In his later years, Sakamoto, despite being an independent, achieved the highest renown in the art world, but he paid no attention to worldly honors and finally reached the subject of his paintings, "the moon." Moonlight illuminating the plains and mountains of Chikugo. Struck by the "full sense of fulfillment hidden in the silence," Sakamoto wrote "Phantom Light," a work that pursued tranquility, as his last work, and passed away in 1969 at the age of 87.
The "two journeys" of Sakamoto Jujiro and Aoki Shigeru, who set out in the same year, in the same town, with the same aspirations, form a striking contrast in terms of both artistic and life issues. However, each work and sentiment speaks to the viewer with a deep sense of reality and charm, and is sublimated with vivid colors and fresh thoughts to the climate of Kurume and Chikugo, the land that raised them.
In 1948, the "Aoki Tsunehisa Monument" was erected on "Keshikeshiyama" (Kabutoyama), where Aoki Shigeru wished to be buried at the end of his life. On the side of the monument, which overlooks the Chikushi Plain and the town of Kurume, is engraved a poem by Aoki that was selected and written by Sakamoto.
"Wagakuni wa Tsukushi no Kuni ya Shirahiwake Haimasu Kuni Hajiohoki Kuni"
Access: About 5 minutes walk from JR Kurume Station (to Sakamoto Jujiro's birthplace)
Recommended for solo travelers: ★★★★★ (You can explore to your heart's content. It's almost a private venue!)
Visit date: Around 1pm on the third Sunday of December
*The photo of the painting was taken at the "Aoki Shigeru, Sakamoto Jujiro: Two Journeys" exhibition held at the Artizon Museum in the fall of 2022. Photos 3-6 are of Sakamoto's birthplace, which still stands in Kurume City, and photos 7-8 are of Sakamoto's atelier, which was relocated to Ishibashi Cultural Center in the same city.
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