Ogiwara Rokuzan

Ogiwara in front of the "young woman"

Ogiwara Rokuzan ( Japanese 荻 原 碌 山 , real name under which he is often quoted: Ogiwara Morie ( 荻 原 守衛 ); * December 1, 1879 in Hotaka, Minamiazumino district (南安 曇 郡 穂 高 町, today: Azumino ), Nagano Prefecture ; † 22 April 1910 ) was a Japanese sculptor.

Life

Ogiwara went to Tōkyō in 1899 and studied oil painting in Koyama Shōtarō's school Fudōsha (不同 社). In 1901 he traveled to New York and, while struggling with many difficulties, spent the next seven years in America and Europe. He was in New York until the fall of 1903, then traveled to Paris. From June 1905 to September 1906 he was again in New York, then returned to Paris. In New York he briefly studied at the "Art Students' League", where he met Tobari Kogan , and in Paris at the "Académie Julian" under Jean-Paul Laurens . But what had the greatest effect on him was the sculpture "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin , which he saw at the end of his first stay. He saw both Rodin (1907) and Antoine Bourdelles during the period who gave him advice when he decided to turn to sculpture. - In December 1907 Ogiwara left Paris and concluded his art studies with a trip to Italy and Greece. From Cairo he returned to Japan, which he reached in March 1908.

After his return, Ogiwara submitted two works on the 2nd Colorful exhibition that originated in Europe, “Torso of a woman” (女 の ト ル ソ, Onna no toruso) and “Bergmann” (坑 夫, Kōfu), and another work, “ Mongaku ” ( 文 覚 ), a monk of the 17th Century. Mongaku received a 3rd Preis, but the other two sculptures had been rejected: the reason given was "they were unfinished". Another work is “Despair” (デ ス ペ ア, Desupea), a prostrate woman, from 1909. Ogiwara's contribution to the colorful exhibition in the following year, the sculpture “Hōjō Torakichi” (北 条 寅 吉 像) was again awarded a 3rd prize. Price excellent. His best-known work "Young Woman" ( 女 , Onna), which was created in the last year of his life, in 1920, has - like the sculpture of Hōjō Torakichi - been declared an important cultural asset of Japan . In 1980 the Japanese Post issued a 50 yen stamp showing the sculpture "Young Woman".

Ogiwara's main work, The Young Woman, is a remarkable example of a sculpture from the Meiji period, when society was only slowly breaking away from the previously feudal structures and it was still difficult to simply be youthfully free. The meetings with Rodin and Bourdelle were helpful for him.

In Ogiwara's homeland, there is a Rokuzan Bijutsukan museum dedicated to his work .

photos

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  Bergmann, 1907

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  Hōjō Torakichi, 1909

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  Woman, 1910

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  Mother and Child, 1910

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Ogiwara Morie . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 555.
• Tazawa, Yutaka: Ogiwara Morie . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981, ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .
• Laurance P. Roberts: Ogiwara Morie . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976, ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

• Ogiwara Rokuzan Museum
• 『彫刻家 ・ 荻 原 守衛 （碌 山）』 日本 近代 彫刻 の 樹立 . 日本 美学 研究所,Retrieved January 1, 2017(Japanese, with many illustrations). 
• Modern Japanese Historical Figures - Ogiwara, Morie

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 荻 原 碌 山 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved January 1, 2017 (Japanese). 

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