2,176 bytes added
, 19:59, 30 July 2012
*''Born: [[1883]]/3/13''
*''Died: 1956/4/2''
*''Japanese'': 高村光太郎 ''(Takamura Koutarou)''
Takamura Kôtarô was a prominent sculptor, poet, and art essayist of the [[Meiji period|Meiji]] through early Shôwa eras.
The son of sculptor [[Takamura Koun|Takamura Kôun]], Kôtarô was born in the Shitaya neighborhood of [[Tokyo]]'s [[Asakusa]] district.
While a student at the [[Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko|Tokyo School of Fine Arts]] where his father was an instructor, Kôtarô joined a literary circle called Meisei, organized by poet [[Yosano Tekkan]], to which he contributed poems in Chinese-style, ''[[tanka]]'', and other forms. He graduated with a degree in sculpture in [[1902]], and went on to post-graduate work in which he focused on the model of Rodin's work. Completing that program of study in [[1905]], he re-entered the school, this time in the ''[[yoga|yôga]]'' (Western painting) department.
Kôtarô journeyed to the United States the following year, and then to London the year after that, where he developed relationships with Bernard Leach and [[Ogiwara Morie]]. The following year, [[1907]], he traveled to Paris, a profound experience which he later described as "the place I became an adult." He returned to Japan in [[1908]], and wrote his famous and influential essay "''[[Midori iro no taiyo|Midori iro no taiyô]]''" ("The Green Sun"). In [[1912]], he became one of the co-founders of the Fusain-kai group of artists, alongside [[Kishida Ryusei|Kishida Ryûsei]] (among others).
He married painter Naganuma Chieko in 1914, and continued his active involvement in painting, sculpture, poetry, translation, and art criticism.
Kôtarô was briefly institutionalized in 1938 for mental illness; his wife died that same year. He moved to [[Iwate prefecture]] in 1945 to escape the danger and destruction in Tokyo, but returned to the capital in 1952. He died of tuberculosis in 1956.
==References==
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%AB%98%E6%9D%91%E5%85%89%E5%A4%AA%E9%83%8E Takamura Kôtarô]." ''Asahi Nihon rekishi jinbutsu jiten'' 朝日日本歴史人物事典. Asahi Shimbun-sha.
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Artists and Artisans]]