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| [[Image:Takamura-Koun-Monkey.jpg|right|thumb|400px|"Aged Monkey," a wooden sculpture originally exhibited at the [[World's Columbian Exposition]]. 1893. [[Important Cultural Property]]. [[Tokyo National Museum]].]] | | [[Image:Takamura-Koun-Monkey.jpg|right|thumb|400px|"Aged Monkey," a wooden sculpture originally exhibited at the [[World's Columbian Exposition]]. 1893. [[Important Cultural Property]]. [[Tokyo National Museum]].]] |
− | [[Image:Saigo.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Statue of [[Saigo Takamori|Saigô Takamori]] by Takamura Kôun in [[Ueno Park]].]] | + | [[Image:Saigo.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Statue of [[Saigo Takamori|Saigô Takamori]] by Takamura Kôun in [[Ueno Park]]. Unveiled [[1898]]/12/18.<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 176.</ref>]] |
| *''Born: [[1852]]/2/18'' | | *''Born: [[1852]]/2/18'' |
| *''Died: 1934/10/10'' | | *''Died: 1934/10/10'' |
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| Takamura Kôun was a prominent sculptor of the [[Meiji period|Meiji]] and Taishô periods, and father of sculptor & poet [[Takamura Kotaro|Takamura Kôtarô]]. He has been described as the "father of modern Japanese wood sculpture." | | Takamura Kôun was a prominent sculptor of the [[Meiji period|Meiji]] and Taishô periods, and father of sculptor & poet [[Takamura Kotaro|Takamura Kôtarô]]. He has been described as the "father of modern Japanese wood sculpture." |
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− | Kôun was born in the Shitaya neighborhood of [[Edo]]; his name was originally Nakajima Mitsuzô. He began studying under Takamura Tôun in [[1863]], and was officially adopted by Tôun's older sister, taking the Takamura name. He continued sculpting in wood through the [[Meiji Restoration]], and began working for the ''[[Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko|Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkô]]'' (Tokyo School of Fine Arts) when it opened in [[1889]]. Kôun became an instructor at the school the following year. | + | Kôun was born in the Shitaya neighborhood of [[Edo]]; his name was originally Nakajima Mitsuzô. He began studying under Takamura Tôun - the last great Buddhist sculptor of the [[Edo period]] style - in [[1863]], and was officially adopted by Tôun's older sister, taking the Takamura name. He continued sculpting in wood through the [[Meiji Restoration]], and began working for the ''[[Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko|Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkô]]'' (Tokyo School of Fine Arts) when it opened in [[1889]]. Kôun became an instructor at the school the following year. He was later named one of the [[Imperial Household Artists]] (''teishitsu gigeiin''), and was given honorary [[court rank]] of Upper Fourth Rank.<ref>Plaques, Hifushi Mikoshi built by Kôun, Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of History.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/16375086871/in/dateposted-public/]</ref> |
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| Though initially trained in more traditional modes of wood sculpture, he began, particularly in the 1890s-1900s, to incorporate Western approaches and aesthetics of realism into his wooden sculptures. He also ventured into sculpting in bronze. While there had been a tradition of bronze sculpture in Japan going back over 1000 years, producing sculptures in the Western style and mode was rather cutting-edge in Japan at the time. Over the course of the next several decades, Kôun's works were shown at numerous [[World's Fairs|international]] and [[domestic expositions]], where he frequently earned high awards. From [[1907]] onwards, he regularly served as a judge in the official government-sponsored exhibitions. | | Though initially trained in more traditional modes of wood sculpture, he began, particularly in the 1890s-1900s, to incorporate Western approaches and aesthetics of realism into his wooden sculptures. He also ventured into sculpting in bronze. While there had been a tradition of bronze sculpture in Japan going back over 1000 years, producing sculptures in the Western style and mode was rather cutting-edge in Japan at the time. Over the course of the next several decades, Kôun's works were shown at numerous [[World's Fairs|international]] and [[domestic expositions]], where he frequently earned high awards. From [[1907]] onwards, he regularly served as a judge in the official government-sponsored exhibitions. |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| *"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%AB%98%E6%9D%91%E5%85%89%E9%9B%B2 Takamura Kôun]." ''Asahi Nihon rekishi jinbutsu jiten'' 朝日日本歴史人物事典. Asahi Shimbun-sha. | | *"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%AB%98%E6%9D%91%E5%85%89%E9%9B%B2 Takamura Kôun]." ''Asahi Nihon rekishi jinbutsu jiten'' 朝日日本歴史人物事典. Asahi Shimbun-sha. |
| + | <references/> |
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| ==External Links== | | ==External Links== |