Satō Chōzan

Satō Chōzan ( Japanese 佐藤 朝山 , also Satō Gengen (佐藤 玄 々), Satō Aundō (阿 吽 洞), real name Satō Seizō (佐藤 清 蔵); born on August 19, 1888 in Fukushima ; died on September 14, 1963 ) was a Japanese Sculptor of the Taishō and Shōwa periods .

life and work

Satō Seizō made an apprenticeship with the woodcarver Yamazaki Chōun (1867-1954) and called himself Chōzan (朝山) accordingly. He later called himself Gengen (玄 々). In 1914 Satō became an associate member of the private Japan Art Institute. From 1922 to 1924 Satō stayed in France, where he continued his education under Antoine Bourdelle .

After his return to Japan, Satō developed his own style by giving his traditionally carved works a modern “western” touch. He created some bronze sculptures, but his more important works were made of wood. From the middle of his creation period he increasingly strengthened the originally Eastern character of his work. In 1937 he became a member of the Academy of Arts .

The representative works of Satō include “Princess Shakuntala and King Doshanta” (シ ャ ク ン タ ラ 姫 と ド ウ シ ャ ン タ 王), “Female cat” (雌 猫; Mesu-neko), “Falcon” (鷹, Taka) and “Chinese cabbage” (白菜); Hakusai. The somewhat overloaded sky fairy (天 女 像, Tennyo-zō) in the Mitsukoshi department store in Tōkyō also comes from him.

Remarks

1. ↑ 阿 吽 = A-Un, these are the first and last sound of the Sanskrit alphabet. Of the two guardian figures in the temples, one murmurs with his mouth open A, the other with his mouth almost closed N.

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Satō Seizō . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .
• Laurance P. Roberts: Satō Chōzan . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links (images)

• Sato's carving 動 Movement, 1929

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