Hakuo Iriyama

Iriyama Hakuo (入山白翁, 1904- November 11, 1991) was a lacquer artist from Shirone, Niigata in Japan. He began training as an apprentice in his family at the age of 15, and developed his own technique of painting, which he referred to as shitsuga.

Timeline of exhibitions and awards

• 1926 Begins to study dry lacquer techniques in Tokyo
• 1928　Enters the Craft Department, and specializes in Lacquer Craft at Ueno Bijyutsu Gakko (now Tokyo University of the Arts).
• 1931　Exhibits and wins at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition (Bijutsu Kougei Ten) while still a student
• 1932　Exhibits and wins at the Art Associations Exhibition (bijutsu kyokai ten)
• 1933 Graduates from the Lacquer Craft Department at Tokyo University of the Arts. Graduation work is exhibited and awarded for highest excellency, remains part of the collection of the Tokyo University of the Arts Arts Museum
• 1935　Exhibits and wins at the Art Association Exhibition for presentation of a tea caddy. This was later bought by Empress Teimei.
• 1936　Exhibits and wins at the government sponsored 3rd Shin Bunten Exhibition
• 1940　Becomes member of the Japan Foreign Trade Council and exhibits works overseas　in the Hoshukuten
• 1944　Founds a research group for lacquer enamel inlay in metal
• 1945　Exhibits and wins at the government sponsored 1st Nitten Exhibition, artwork sold overseas
• 1946 Exhibits and wins at the government sponsored 2nd Nitten Exhibition
• 1948 Exhibits and wins at the government sponsored 4th Nitten Exhibition
• 1950 Exhibits and wins at the government sponsored 6th Nitten Exhibition. Leaves the art organizations and works as independent artist. For the first time, he now announces and presents his original lacquer technique, in which a thick lacquer base is spread on a dry lacquer plate and while not dried yet, a spatula from bamboo is used to draw into the base. After drying the base is colored with pigmented lacquer imitating nature, similar to an oil painting technique, while the base is already prepared as a relief. He calls the technique "Shitsuga" 【漆画】- "Lacquer painting". In the same year he announces the new technique of "Lacquer Painting Block Print"【漆絵版画】 using a dry lacquer plate and lacquer for printing and "Lacquer Ink Stone" -"Urushisuzuri"【漆硯】 building the whole inkstione from dry lacquer.
• 1954　Several artworks delivered to United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Argentina, Netherlands, Belgium
• 1955　Delivers a Dry Lacquer Metal and Lacquer Inlay Cabin 【乾漆象嵌蒔絵花瓶】 to the Soviet Art Museum
• 1956　Solo exhibition of "Lacquer paintings" at the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Gallery
• 1957 Follows the second exhibition of "Lacquer paintings" at the same location
• 1958 A third exhibition of "Lacquer paintings" at the same location is followed by one-man shows at Kintetsu, Isetan, Odakyu, Daiwa and Tokyu department stores galleries, Shiseido Gallery in Ginza, Keidanren Kaikan, Tokyo American Club and The Industry Club of Japan that were repeated over the following years for more than 30 times 　
• 1975　Wins at Okinawa Expo '75 "Contemporary Art Contest Exhibition- Drawings of the Sea" for a 100 cm broad sized lacquer painting depicting "Whirling tides"
• 1977　Retrospective exhibition of the last 30 years held at Tokyo Central Museum
• 1982　Guest Exhibition at the The Shoto Museum of Art, followed by a long term one- man show in the United States, Pasadena Museum of California Art, exhibiting lacquer paintings
• 1984　Exhibiting the 70 cm lacquer painting "Akatsuki Fuji" in the "500 Years of Artists inspired by Mount Fuji" exhibition in a row with famous artists like Sesshu, Zean, Sotatsu, Korin, Okyo and Taikan in the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum
• 1986　Senshinhora Gallery, Tokyo Machida
• 1988　Lacquer painting exhibition at Hachioji Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.
• 1990　Exhibition at Aikawa Gallery, Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture

Legacy

Incorporating the disciplines of Japanese traditional paintings and utilizing them for the traditional lacquer crafts, a whole new world of lacquer paintings and lacquer prints was created by the artist and refined over more than half a century. The fame of works and artist was spread immediately domestically and overseas, counting too many renowned celebrities as collectors to listing them here. To name a few, the artist was honoured by the Japanese Emperor, the noble house of Takamatsu-no-miya, Ishibashi-buke, followed by important members of society such as Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda and famous political and business persons worldwide. After some illness, he returned to his atelier in order to complete several unfinished artworks, but died in 1991.

Celebrity status

Some celebrities in possession of Hakuo's works:

1. Elizabeth Taylor
2. Winston Churchill
3. Dwight D. Eisenhower
4. John F. Kennedy
5. Robert Kennedy
6. King Albert II of Belgium
7. King Baudouin I of Belgium
8. Mao Tsetung
9. Hugh Hefner
10. Yoshida Shigeru
11. Empress Teimei
12. Rajendra Prasad
13. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
14. King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud
15. Haile Selassie I