Takashima Yajuro: 50 Years after His Passing

TAKASHIMA Yajuro (1890 – 1975) was a European-style painter born in Fukuoka Prefecture. Although he graduated at the top of his class, studying Fisheries Sciences at the College of Agriculture of Tokyo Imperial University (present day The University of Tokyo), he chose the path of a painter. Yajuro learned painting by himself and was not affiliated with any art groups, thus earning himself the name of a “solitary artist” as he did not follow fashionable or contemporary trends, and stayed faithful to his ideals and beliefs. Yajuro has strong ties with Shibuya, as for 50 years he had resided in his ateliers in Shibuya and Aoyama, before moving to Kashiwa City in Chiba Prefecture in his later life. This exhibition introduces approximately 150 pieces, including well-known masterpieces and works that will be displayed for the first time. Moreover, this largest-ever retrospective exhibition aims to explore Yajuro’s personality through the related correspondence and notes.