Mori Yoshitoshi

Mori Yoshitoshi ( Japanese 森 義 利 ; born October 31, 1898 in Tokyo ; † May 29, 1992 ) was a Japanese artist who is best known for his stencil prints.

life and work

Mori was raised by his aunt, who taught Nagauta, the narrative chants of the Kabuki dramas . He lived most of his life in the Nihonbashi district or other districts of central Tokyo. Street life thus became one of his subjects. As a teenager, coming from a poor family, he had to work, but became interested in art from an early age, especially Ukiyo-e . Mori received his first lessons from the Shinhanga artist Yamakawa Shūhō (1898–1944). From Shūhō's father, who worked as a textile designer, he learned design and the technique of fabric dyeing. In 1918 he was drafted and came to Korea as a soldier, where he stayed until 1920.

After returning from Korea, Mori continued his education and met many artists. From 1925 he worked as a textile designer and dyer. From 1938 on, the folklorist Yanagi Muneyoshi invited him to give lectures in the newly opened Museum of Folk Art. In 1940 he met Serizawa Keisuke , Munakata Shikō and Sasajima Kihei for the first time . During the Pacific War , he and Serizawa studied textile design and dyeing technology in Okinawa .

After the war, Mori became increasingly known with exhibitions of his textiles as works of art in Japan. From 1951 he experimented with stencil printing and, with the support of Yanagi, became known abroad from 1957. He regularly showed pictures at the exhibition of the "Japan Print Academy" ( 日本 版 画院 , Nippon Hanga-in ) and increasingly felt himself to be a color print artist, which removed him from Serisawa, who stuck to his role as a textile designer. James A. Michener included a sheet by Mori in his illustrated book The Modern Japanese Print , which further increased its popularity. Between 1965 and 1985, Mori distanced himself from all artists' associations, always somewhat idiosyncratic.

Traveling around Europe in 1970 made him dig deeper into Japan's own past. In 1974 he published a portfolio with 34 prints on the Heike Monogatari and in 1976 one with 49 prints on the Genji Monogatari . The 1985 Mori Yoshitoshi Kappa-ban exhibition in Leiden contributed to its further recognition. In 1985 he had to undergo an eye operation, but recovered well and remained artistically active until the last year of his life.

Mori became a leading figure in the folk art movement through his prints. In addition to kabuki, his subjects were popular Buddhism, Japanese legends and the simple life.

Remarks

1. ↑ 合 羽 版 (kappa-han) or 合 羽 刷 り (kappa-zuri) is the Japanese name for stencil printing.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Michener, James: The Modern Japanese Print. An appreciation. Tuttle, 1962

literature

• Smith, Lawrence: Modern Japanese Prints. 1912-1989. Cross River Press, 1994. ISBN 1-55859-871-5 .

Web links

• Mori at Yamada Shoten
• Mori in the Saru gallery

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Mori is the family name, Yoshitoshi the first name.