Yoshio Fujimaki Explained

Native Name:	藤牧義夫
Native Name Lang:	ja
Birth Date:	19 January 1911
Birth Place:	Tatebayashimachi, Ōra District, Gunma, Empire of Japan (now Tatebayashi, Gunma, Japan)
Disappeared Place:	Mukojima-ku, Tokyo, Empire of Japan (now Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan)
Resting Place:	Horin-ji, Asahi-cho, Tatebayashi, Gunma, Japan

(January 19, 1911 – disappeared September 2, 1935）was a Japanese printmaker who was part of the Sōsaku-hanga movement. He focused mainly on depicting the Shitamachi area of Tokyo during the 1930s, and is known for creating a long Hakubyō scroll print focusing on areas surrounding the Sumida River.^[1] Fujimaki became an obscure figure after his disappearance at the age of 24, but a 1978 exhibition renewed interest in his work.

Career

Fujimaki was born in the village of, which was incorporated into the eponymous city in 1954.^[2] His family were shizoku who served the Tatebayashi Han.^[3] After the Meiji Restoration, his father worked as an educator and served for a time as principal of an elementary school; he also painted and wrote calligraphy using the art name Sangaku . Fujimaki's mother and father died in his childhood; when he was the age of 2 and 13 respectively. After his father's death, the family started a daily goods store at their home. A neighbor of note at the time was, who lived two houses next to them.

Fujimaki showed talent in artwork during his elementary school days and surprised those around him. After moving to Tokyo in 1927, he became a disciple to a textile artist in Nihonbashi named Sota Sasaki, and while he was studying commercial designs, he developed a unique printing style influenced by German expressionism. His most significant artwork is the Sumidagawa Emaki a 4-part scroll that totals 60 meters in length. Fujimaki disappeared in Tokyo at the age of 24. His grave is located at Horinji at Asahi-cho, Tatebayashi. He was also a Kokuchūkai member, and left behind an artwork that depicted the religious group's headquarter titled Shinkoen .^[4]

Disappearance

After visiting fellow printmaker Tadashige Ono's home Fujimaki disappeared. Ono told his friends that Fujimaki suffered from poverty and sank in to the Sumida River, and on the pamphlet of the 1978 exhibition,^[5] Ono wrote that he told him that he canceled his room and entrusted him with two furoshiki wrappings before leaving. Ono's statement led to suspicions that he threw himself in to the Sumida River to commit suicide.

Family

Father: Tomonoshichi Fujimaki - Worked as a principal of an elementary school for 30 years, and after retiring became a judicial scrivener for the Maebashi District Court.^[6] He had 10 children, but out of those, the only male offsprings that survived was his 2nd-born son and the last child (Yoshio) that he had when he was 54. He died from illness at the age of 67 in 1924.
Mother: Taka - Tomonoshichi's 2nd wife. Died when Yoshio was 2.
Adoptive mother: Masa - Taka's sister. Married Tomonoshichi when Yoshio was 8.
Elder brother: Hidetsugu - 18 years senior to Yoshio. He became an employee of, and after moving to Tokyo he studied at the as well as the commercial school of Keio Gijuku, but passed away at the age of 33 due to tuberculosis.

Timeline

1911 - Yoshio is born to Tomonoshichi and Taka as their fourth son at 1006 Tatebayashi-cho, Ōra District, Gunma (now Shiromachi, Tatebayashi-shi). Tomonoshichi was 52 at the time, and Taka was his 2nd wife, and her home was in front of Katai Tayama's birth home.
1913 - Taka passes away
1917 - Yoshio enrolls to Tatebayashi Ordinary Elementary School (currently the
1919 - Yoshio's father remarries to Taka's sister Masa
1923 - Yoshio graduates from the elementary school
1924 - Tomonoshichi passes away in September
1925 - Yoshio graduates from higher elementary school
1926 - Yoshio self-publishes his father's biography Sangaku Zenshu Dai-1-kan
1928 - Yoshio becomes employed at the Uematsu Design Studio in Ginza. His mentor Sota Sasaki (born in Hakodate in 1892) was a self-trained designer of metal accessories, and after studying with groups such as the Hakuba-kai, Sasaki was known as one of the leading artists of Tokyo at the time.^[7]
1931 - Exhibits Guard-shita no Spark (woodprint) at the 9th Shunyo-kai Exhibit, as well as Yakei and Ukechi no Yoru (both woodprints) at the 1st Exhibition of the Japan Print Association.
1932 - Attends the founding meeting of the group Shinhanga Shudan held at Tadashige Ono's home. In their inaugural issue of their in house magazine Shinhanga, Yoshio submits his self-portrait (woodblock) titled Jigazo .
1933 - Exhibits Kyuyujo (woodprint) at the 14th Teiten
1934 - Returns to Tatebayashi and depicts the in emaki style. Yoshio becomes one of the member of Kokuchūkai's Seikakai, led by Chugaku Tanaka. Completes the Sumidagawa Emaki.
1935

April: Publishes the essay Jidai ni Ikiyo, Jidai wo Koeyo ; and Shirahigebashi (Woodprint)

June: Opens a solo exhibition at the Tokyodo Art Gallery in Kanda, Tokyo

September: Disappears after visiting Ono Tadashige's home in Mukojima. He was 24 years old.

Works

1931: Guard-shita no Spark (woodprint)
1931: Ukechi no Yoru (woodprint)
1932: Jigazo (woodblock)
1933: Kyuyujo (woodprint, currently owned by the Tatebayashi Daiichi Shiryokan)
1933: Shirahigebashi (Woodprint)
1933: Ginko ni tsuite (multicolored woodprint; currently owned by The Miyagi Museum of Art)
1933: Winter of Jonuma (currently owned by)
1934: Red Sun (woodprint; currently owned by the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo)
1934: The Moon (multicolored woodprint; currently owned by the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama)
1935: Sumidagawa Emaki （currently owned by the Tatebayashi Daiichi Shiryokan）

Exhibitions

June 25–27, 1935: Fujimaki Yoshio Hanga Kojinten held at the Tokyodo Art Gallery in Kanda, Tokyo
January 1978: Fujimaki Yoshio Isaku Hangaten held at the Kanransha in Ginza, Tokyo
1987: 1930-nendai no hangakatachiーTaninaka Yasunori to Fujimaki Yoshio wo chushin toshite held at the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama
1995: Seitan 85-shunen kinenーFujimaki Yoshio sono geijutsu no zenbo held at the Tatebayashi Daiichi Shiryokan
2011: Fujimaki Yoshio: Centennial of His Birth held at Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi and Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama^[8]

Collections

Fifty-six of his works are held in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo,^[9] and the Art Institute of Chicago holds one of his prints in its collection.^[10]

Documentary

"Fujimaki Yoshio 'Red Sun'" TV Tokyo et al., 2007
"Jidai ni ikiyo Jidai wo koeyo ~Hangaka Fujimaki Yoshio" NHK 2012
Shin Bi no kyojin tachi "Attoteki hyogenryoku! Fujimaki Yoshio 'Sumidagawa Emaki' x Kaname Jun'" TV Tokyo et al., 2020

Bibliography

Book: 藤牧義夫生誕100年 . Kyuryudo . 2011 . 9784763011312 . ja . Centennial Anniversary of Fujimaki Yoshio.

Related works

Aioibashi en'u by Fujio Noguchi (June 1, 1982 Bungei Shunju) - a novel based on Fujimaki
Fujimaki Yoshio shingi by Yoshihisa Otani (November 8, 2010 Gakugei Shoin) - A research book concerning fakes and Fujimaki's disappearance
Kimi wa sumidagawa ni kietanoka : Fujimaki yoshio to hanga no kyojitsu by (May 12, 2011 Kodansha) - A nonfiction focusing on the mysterious circumstance surrounding Fujimaki's disappearance

References

Web site: 生誕100年藤牧義夫展 : Fujimaki Yoshio - Centennial of His Birth：神奈川県立近代美術館＜鎌倉館＞ . https://web.archive.org/web/20210727010715/http://www.moma.pref.kanagawa.jp/storage/jp/museum/exhibitions/2011/fujimaki/ . 2021-07-27 . 2022-12-12 . www.moma.pref.kanagawa.jp . Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama.
Web site: 2022-02-23 . 藤牧義夫「生誕110年」ゆかりの地で企画展数奇な生涯を絵でたどる隅田川描いた4軸、10年ぶり展示 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220223001339/https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/161880 . 2022-02-23 . 2023-12-12 . . ja.
Web site: Tsuruyama . Yuji . 2012-05-08 . No.011 生誕100年藤牧義夫 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230604200452/https://gold-fish-press.com/archives/2911 . 2023-06-04 . 2023-12-12 . ja.
Web site: Fukuda . Kazuya . 2011-04-30 . 絶筆となる原稿を捧げた若き版画家。無名の芸術家の惨憺たる境遇 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231212045003/https://gendai.media/articles/-/2467 . 2023-12-12 . 2023-12-12 . 現代ビジネス . ja.
Web site: Ono Tadashige, 19 January 1909 – 17 October 1990 Notes and Chronology: Successor Discourses (peers of Ono) . Asia Art Archive . 13 July 2024.
『君は隅田川に消えたのか　藤牧義夫と版画の虚実』第一章「幸福なとき」
『君は隅田川に消えたのか　藤牧義夫と版画の虚実』p54
Web site: Yoshio Fujimaki "Centennial of His Birth . Tokyo Art Beat . 19 January 2024.
Web site: Yoshio Fujimaki . The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo . 19 January 2024.
Web site: Fujimaki Yoshio . Art Institute of Chicago . 13 July 2024.