Collection

Sakakibara Shiho

Unripe Plum Blossoms1918　176.0×114.5 cm（each）
This work by Shiho was the first item presented to the National Painting Creation Society Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai, which was formed as a venue through which to present modern works of Japanese painting. The painting evokes both a vitality filled with hope for new challenges and a Romanticist yearning for the West.
Japanese White‐eyes and Plum Blossoms1939　45.2×50.3 cm
Here, Japanese white eyes flitter about merrily as their wings fill with the still‐cool winds of early spring.
It can be said that the flower and bird work is that of a painter who feels the limitless pleasure of engaging in a dialogue with nature.
Persimmon and Bamboo1967　53.0×23.5 cm
This persimmon, the only one remaining on the bare tree branch, is at one time a symbol of nature's truth yet also seems to exist at the will of the universe. Going beyond a mere exchange with nature, this work evokes a view of Shiho in his later years, when he had achieved his own sense of unity with nature.

Sakakibara Shiho

1887‐1971

Sakakibara Shiho was born in Kyoto. Shiho studied with major Japanese painters such as Takeuchi Seiho at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts (Kyoto City Bijutsu Kogei Gakko) and some other art schools. Consequently, he emerged as an excellent young painter in the Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibitions (Bunten). In 1918, in conjunction with Tsuchida Bakusen, he established the Association for the Creation of New Japanese-style Painting (Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai). The goal of this association was to expose painters to their peers so as to improve respect for each other’s painting characteristics. While working in this association he released many motivated works. After the dissolution, Shiho withdrew from the art community but continued to paint flower and bird paintings throughout his life. In his later years, he created suiboku-ga (sumi ink paintings) showing his high spirituality.