INOSUKE HAZAMA: COLOURING JAPAN'S CONNECTION TO THE WEST

HAZAMA Inosuke, Recollection of Kugenuma, 1937, Hazama Inosuke Museum

One of the two shows now on at the Artizon focuses on the life and work of Inosuke Hazama (1895-1977), a once prominent figure in Japan's art world, who is now largely forgotten by the wider public. The Artizon is certain that this is an injustice, and the show sets out to make amends by showing Hazama's art and artistic connections. These include the great French colourist Henri Matisse, someone who greatly influenced Hazama and whom he was instrumental in bringing to Japan in 1951 (three years before his death).

In addition to 83 works by Hazama, the exhibition includes 17 works, mainly by French artists with connections to the artist, including several Matisses.

Curator Eriko Ito explains Hazama's connection with Matisse which started in the 1930s:

"Hazama brought his paintings to Matisse in Nice with his wife who was French. They often visited the atelier of Matisse, and Matisse taught him about valeur de couleur [colour value], and Hazama said, Matisse used his paintings and his collection, for example he put Hazama's works next to Cezanne's and he explained the valeur de couleur. Hazama thought this was a very important experience. He called Matisse 'Sensei' in Japanese -- 'Master' -- but with other well-known artists like Gogh, Cezanne, or Courbet, he just referred to them by their names."

Henri MATISSE, Nude in the Studio, 1899, Artizon Museum

It is also interesting that Hazama, like many other Japanese artists continued to be so strongly drawn to Western art at a time when Japan was preparing itself for a period of "extreme nationalistic expression" leading into the unfortunate events of WWII. But, according to Ito, modern Western art at the time, with its emphasis on colour rather than perspective, had an intrinsic appeal to the Japanese artistic temperament.

"For Hazama colour was the key word instead of linear perspective," Ito explains. "Depending on colour value something feels closer, or it feels further away."

Colour and the various emotions it evokes thus became a kind of perspective. This is especially apparent in one of the most eye-catching pictures in the exhibition, "Under Lamplight" (1941) which shows Fumiko Ishizuka, a model and painter, who had an unusual connection with Hazama, even proposing to him when his French wife returned home due to the war.

HAZAMA Inosuke, Under Lamplight, 1941, Hazama Inosuke Museum

Hazama, however, was unable to reciprocate and remained married to his French wife, who later returned to Japan to assist him with Matisse's 1951 visit.

The war had a major impact on Hazama's art. This was because he was forced to use increasingly inferior oil paints that were unable to retain their colour value. This led him to turn to ceramic art, as the colours were easier to fix and less susceptible to fading.

"During the wartime, the quality of the paint was very bad, and he thought about the change of the colour after he painted. And then he found ceramics, and ceramics don't change their colour, so his interest moved to ceramics at that time. For Hazama, making ceramics was following the same direction in art, namely towards colour. The material is different from painting, but his goal was the same."

HAZAMA Inosuke, Overglaze Design on a Large Kutani Dish: Quarry in Torigoemura, 1975, Hazama Inosuke Museum

But back to the Artizon's mission to redeem Hazama from his undeserved obscurity. Why did his artistic star fall? Back in the 1930s, he was even one of the official artists associated with the Berlin Olympics, with even a certain notorious "Austrian painter" buying one of his print works (not included in the exhibition unfortunately!).

Part of the answer lies in the structure of the Japanese art world, which centres around tight-knit artistic associations that stage exhibitions. These can disadvantage artists who switch between media like Hazama. The rest of the answer, however, may lie in Hazama's own temperament. Ito takes up the story.

"His friend, Yoshinori Kinoshita was a painter who also belonged to the ceramic circle. He was able to combine the two successfully, but Hazama was argumentative. He was competitive and he fought against the group."

Yes, the importance of social dynamics must never be underestimated in the Japanese art world, but over time all that dies away, and only the art is left to rise and fall on its artistic merits.