Ars: časopis Ústavu Dejín Umenia Slovenskej Akadémie Vied (47.2014)

4. Kinoshita Shü^ö, Histoiy of art bejbreFuturism (2), in Davidßurliuk andShù Kinoshita, \T'hat isFuturistu'?...an answer, Tokyo: Chüöbijutsusha,
1923, 55.

of Cubism. In subséquent years Yorozu developed
a successful career and was selected as a member
of the prestigious Nika Society. Later he joined the
Japan Watercolour Painting Association. He died
prematurely at the age of 41, from tuberculosis.
Ishii Hakutei (1882 — 1958), painter and print
artist, was one of the fathers of the sosáku hanga
(creative print) movement. Born in Tokyo in 1882
with the given name Mankichi, he was the son of the
traditional-style painter and lithographer Ishii Teiko
(1848 — 97), with whom he studied early in his life.
After his father’s death, Hakutei became interested in
Western-style art and soon became very competent
in both oils and watercolour, specializing in Japanese
landscape. He studied under Asai C, a leadingjögzz
painter and in 1904 won entry to the Tokyo School
of Fine Arts, where he studied with the already
mentioned Kuroda Seiki and Fujishima Takeji (1867
— 1943) who were both prominentyöga painters. Ishii
was an activist in groups of yöga artists and was the
editor of the art and literary magazine Myöjö (Morn-

ing Star) and a co-founder of the magazine Fleitan
(1905 — 6). Hewent to Europe in 1910. On hisreturn
in 1912 he continuée! his prints séries “Twelve Views
of Tokyo”, begun in 1910. Ishii wrote extensively on
the European art scene and his expériences, reporting
on the Fauve, Futurist, and Cubist exhibits he viewed
overseas, as well as on Kandinsky and the Blauer
Reiter group. In his illustrated report “Independent
exhibition and some works of Van Dongen” from
the Independent salon he saw in 1911, he reported
in “Tokyo Asahi” newspaper on the 21st and 22nd
July [Fig. 1 - 3], He described Cubism, which he
saw for the first time in his life, as follows “When it
cornes to Metzinger’s works, he expresses everything
by using clusters of triangles, 1 hardly understand
it. It is not that he expressed “dimensions” with
Straight fines, but they just look like crystals”. This
Statement was accompanied with Ishii’s sketch [see
Fig. 1]. It is possible that it was Ishii’s introductions
that inspired Yorozu and his work and his work
“Girl with a balloon” (1912 — 1913) that bears com-

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