Summer Special Exhibition 2024: The Age of War: Tsuguharu Foujita in Japan: From Everyday Life to Wartime

Exhibition Overview

In the 1920s, Tsuguharu Foujita rose to fame with his "milky-skinned" nudes. After returning to Japan temporarily in 1929 for a triumphant return exhibition, he made Japan his base of operations from 1933, and from 1938 onwards produced war paintings as a war artist. However, after the war, heartbroken over issues surrounding war responsibility, Foujita left for France via New York in 1949, never to return to Japan again.

During Foujita's extended stay in Japan in the 1930s, even as the footsteps of war drew closer, he remained enthusiastic about creating art. Drawing on his experiences in France and Latin America, he created many murals, painted people he met in Mexico, and energetically produced portraits. It was during his time in Japan that he also produced many Japanese-style paintings. In 1934, he joined the Nikakai, demonstrating his commitment to being based in Japan. Foujita was also tasked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other organizations with introducing Japanese culture to the world, traveling throughout the country and painting Japanese landscapes, customs, and traditions. During these years, he left behind many writings about Japan. Meanwhile, until the war began in earnest, Foujita was also actively promoting France as an "international person" through his artwork and writings.

When the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, many artists, including Fujita, became war painters, working on behalf of their home countries. Western motifs disappeared from Fujita's work, and his style shifted to one that was more Japanese. He subsequently produced works focusing on "life on the home front" and the battlefield. However, in April 1939, Fujita suddenly left Japan with his fifth wife, Kimiyo, and headed for Paris. He remained in France until the worsening war situation in Europe forced him to return home. He finally returned to Japan in May 1940, shaving his head and producing several major war paintings, fulfilling his mission as a war painter.

Foujita stated that his reason for going to France was to "play a part in international friendship through art," but the truth remains unknown. Looking at his diary and notebooks from 1939, it appears that, apart from the fact that it was wartime, his life there was not significantly different from his previous life in Paris. He produced artwork daily and actively interacted with local Japanese people. However, he was sensitive to the war situation, and kept detailed records of wartime events. Upon returning to Japan, Foujita devoted himself to creating war paintings, producing masterpieces such as "Suicide Attack on Attu Island" (1943, oil on canvas, collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).

This exhibition focuses on the period between Foujita's time at the École de Paris, when he achieved fame, and his postwar life in France, namely the 1930s and 1940s, when he was living in Japan. The exhibition showcases Foujita's works, created during a time when the shadow of war was creeping into everyday life and the conflict was gradually becoming more intense, as well as invaluable portraits taken by Domon Ken. Enjoy viewing the exhibition while reflecting on Foujita's feelings at the time.

Exhibition Highlights

2. Focus on Fujita in Japan as a bridge to the rest of the world

Foujita lived in Japan in 1929 and again from 1933 to 1949. During the war, he is known as a war painter, producing masterpieces such as "Battle of the Harha River" (1941, oil on canvas, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) and "Suicide Attack on Attu Island" (1943, oil on canvas, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), which helped to inspire the nation's fighting spirit. However, prior to that, he portrayed and shared with the world the landscapes of rural Japan, Japanese traditions, and Japanese women. In a letter to Picasso in March 1938, Foujita spoke of Japan's virtues and noted that it was not a country dominated by militarism. This exhibition, featuring works from the museum's collection and commentary, will showcase Foujita's time in Japan, a time when everyday life was still peaceful, even as the footsteps of war approached.

3. Special exhibition held at the same time!

"Tsuguharu Foujita: The Work of Books in Japan - France as Seen by Foujita"
Date: July 25th (Thursday) – September 24th (Tuesday), 2024

Fujita was involved in "Book Works," a magazine introducing Japan in Paris in the 1920s, when Japonism was rekindled, and he then worked on "Book Works" in Japan up until the onset of war, focusing on French customs, fashions, and women. In particular, women's magazines, which introduced women's achievements and foreign cultures, welcomed Fujita, who had lived abroad for many years, and commissioned him to create cover illustrations. In this special exhibition, you will be able to see France as seen by Fujita through "Book Works," and enjoy the progressive atmosphere that permeated Japanese society in the 1930s, even as war loomed.

Introduction of the exhibited works

First public exhibition “Cat” 1929 Sumi on silk

This ink painting was created by Fujita as a celebratory gift for Kuniyuki, the 13th head of the Mito Tokugawa family, who had been a friend of Fujita since childhood, when he was made a duke in 1929 for completing the compilation of the "Dai Nihonshi." It is believed to have been painted in 1929, when Kuniyuki had returned home in triumph after his success in Paris. The friendship between the two continued even after he returned to Paris after the war. Please note the gentle brushwork, which conveys Fujita's heartfelt congratulations on Kuniyuki's achievement.

First public showing of "Jiujiang Air Corps Maintenance" 1940 Oil on canvas

This oil painting depicts the scene in Jiujiang, a port town on the Yangtze River (China), which had been under Japanese military control since July 26, 1938. In October 1938, Fujita, as a commissioned officer of the Ministry of the Navy, set out for the Battle of Hankou with Takehito Fujishima, Hakutei Ishii, and Kenichi Nakamura, stopping off in Shanghai and Jiujiang. In his autobiography, Fujita wrote of the morning he woke up in Jiujiang: "The sounds of trucks, the hammering of soldiers, ship whistles, the noise of unloading cargo, the chirping of sparrows, the cries of kites... Jiujiang was bustling even in the morning." Please enjoy Fujita's work, which depicts a scene of everyday bustle during wartime, depicted in subtle yet vivid colors.

First public work "Children Playing in the Street" 1955, ink on paper

This work is one of the illustrations included in "Sea Dragon" (1955, Georges Guillot), a book that chronicles the memories of French intellectual Jean Cocteau's trip to Japan in May 1936. Cocteau was accompanied on his 11-day stay in Japan by translator Daigaku Horiguchi and Fujita, who was based in Japan at the time. Although the work was created in 1955, it depicts the Japanese landscapes of the 1930s that Cocteau and Fujita saw together.

"Home Life" (Cover: Tsuguharu Foujita, April 1937 issue, Osaka Mainichi Shimbun/Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun, Karuizawa Ando Museum of Art Collection)

Concurrent Events
"Tsuguharu Foujita: The Work of Books in Japan - France as Seen by Foujita"
Date: July 25th (Thursday) – September 24th (Tuesday), 2024