In the history of Japanese sculpture, the statue of Kusunoki Masashige is a notable and influential work. It was achieved through a collaborative endeavor by staff of Tokyo Fine Arts School inspired by Sumitomo’s efforts to spur the resurgence of the arts and crafts of Japan.
Sueoka:
Koun Takamura who led the production of the statue of Kusunoki Masashige was the first professor of the Department of Sculpture of Tokyo Fine Arts School, a predecessor of present-day Tokyo University of the Arts. He is your great senpai. How do you rate the statue of Kusunoki Masashige?
Kitagou:
As part of my research, I studied Koun. The statue of Kusunoki Masashige is one of his masterpieces. It captures the moment when Kusunoki Masashige is reining in his horse, bringing it to a quivering standstill. The power of the horse’s legs is palpable as the animal’s mane and tail flare in the wind. Kusunoki Masashige is resolutely tucking in his chin as he exerts mastery over the animal. This statue creates an atmosphere taut with dramatic intensity. I am thrilled by the workmanship.
Sueoka:
Presumably he created the statue, knowing it would be mounted on a plinth.
Kitagou:
Yes. The statue alone is four meters in height. Then, with the statue mounted on the plinth, the head is at a height of eight meters. The artist had to consider that elevation. In fact, if you view the statue from above, the neck looks somewhat short. The head is inserted in the body and they must have tried many times to find the best position, by adjusting the angle, inserting the head again and again, and manipulating it. When viewed from ground level, I think the head is in exactly the right position.
Sueoka:
It seems there was a lot of discussion about the horse. According to the documents left by Koun, the design of the horse was created by combining the excellent features of Japanese horses from various regions, such as the Kiso Horse from Nagano Prefecture.
Kitagou:
The horse depicted in the statue is larger than a typical Japanese cavalry mount. In terms of their height, Japanese native horses are much shorter. If the horse were scaled down to the actual size of a Japanese horse, the effect might be reminiscent of Don Quixote riding the scrawny Rocinante. In fact, for samurai in armor, Japanese native horses were just the right size for them to mount easily and gallop around the field of battle. But for the sake of appearances, a larger horse is better, giving a much more stylish impression. Clearly, this was the opinion of Sadayuki Goto, the artist in charge of producing the horse. So he opted for the design of a horse based on the characteristics of Arabian horses, which were imported to Japan for military use from the Meiji period onward. As a sculptor, I can appreciate what he had in mind. Goto had served in the Japanese Army. He was familiar with military horses. He even obtained the carcasses of horses for dissection and analysis. For Kusunoki Masashige’s bronze horse, Goto brilliantly incorporated the characteristics of Arabian horses.
Sueoka:
As for the appearance of Kusunoki Masashige, there were so many different opinions that the task of determining the design seems to have been beset with difficulty.
Kitagou:
Yes, indeed. The documentary evidence, which I have read, indicates that the people involved in the project encountered great difficulty. Although the sculptor is ultimately responsible for the presentation of the subject, when creating a sculpture of a historical figure, the sculptor cannot simply do as he pleases. The facial expression and the clothes and other items worn by the subject require the stamp of authenticity. Thorough research is required to ensure historical accuracy and the artist must consider the personality of the subject, making the best use of the reference materials available, which may be sparse, and refining the design. It took them three years just to complete the wooden molds for the sculpture of Kusunoki Masashige. The expenditure of so much time on protracted discussion was agony for Koun and the other artists involved in creating this sculpture.
Sueoka:
Sculpture would seem to have something in common with philosophy.
Kitagou:
Yes. Sculpture is an art form that is both cerebral and fundamental.
Sueoka:
The statue is at a superb location. Beyond the statue, one gazes toward the Imperial Palace, with the trees providing a memorable background to the statue.
Kitagou:
Consideration of the location of the finished work is very much part of the sculptor’s task. The body of the horse is aligned toward the Imperial Palace but Kusunoki Masashige is looking down a little so as to be respectful. Alluding to a scene from a historical epic, the rider’s posture and countenance express determination, while the statue’s splendidly spacious location is also exploited to the full. This statue is a tour de force in terms of the use of space.
Sueoka:
At around the same time as the Kusunoki Masashige statue was being made, Sumitomo commissioned Tokyo Fine Arts School to create a bronze statue of Saihei Hirose, but this statue was donated to the government in 1943 (18th year of the Showa era) when Japan was experiencing wartime shortages of copper. Subsequently, Sumitomo commissioned the team under your leadership at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (present-day Tokyo University of the Arts) to remake the statue of Saihei Hirose. The statue was completed in 2003 (15th year of the Heisei era). When we saw the rough design, we were somewhat anxious as to whether the height of the statue would be appropriate and had misgivings as to what we thought might be the overly reddish hue of the plinth. But on seeing the statue at the Hirose Memorial Museum in Niihama, our concerns immediately evaporated. The statue perfectly fits the mountainous background and the adjacent building
Kitagou:
I am glad to know that you are pleased with it. The statue of Saihei Hirose is situated, gazing toward the world beyond the sea, against the background of the Besshi mountains. Tokyo University of the Arts had not accepted commissions from external parties for many years, although we do so now. Our predecessor, Tokyo Fine Arts School, had warmly welcomed such commissions. Sumitomo commissioned the statue of Kusunoki Masashige, the statue of Saihei Hirose, and three other items from the school. The recently opened school was deeply grateful to Sumitomo for commissioning these works.
Sueoka:
Sumitomo heartily endorsed Tokyo Fine Arts School’s objective of fostering traditional arts and crafts. Hirose was distressed by the poor quality of the Japanese arts and crafts exhibits at the Paris Expo of 1889 and recognized the need to remedy the situation. Commissioning works from Tokyo Fine Arts School was intended to spur development of Japan’s traditional arts and crafts, and, of course, Sumitomo’s copper would be used for the bronze statues. Nowadays, such initiatives would be described as excellent corporate social responsibility projects.
Kitagou:
Before Tokyo Fine Arts School was established in 1887 (20th year of the Meiji era) headed by Tenshin Okakura, the government established the School of Arts in 1876 (9th year of the Meiji era) as an affiliate of the Imperial College of Engineering. In those days, what constituted art was much debated and many carpenters wished to join the School of Arts. When Tokyo Fine Arts School was established, Tenshin Okakura invited Koun Takamura and other distinguished artists to the school. The school worked on pieces commissioned by Sumitomo and on other projects, hired excellent teachers, and gradually put in place the system for teaching the arts. By 1896 (29th year of the Meiji era) when the statue of Kusunoki Masashige was completed, the arts were becoming established, respected and appreciated in society and starting to truly flourish.
Sueoka:
I see. Tenshin Okakura who did so much to attract talented people and commissions must have been an outstandingly gifted man.
Sueoka:
By the way, I wonder what happened to the wooden molds used for the statue of Kusunoki Masashige. Whereas the wooden molds for the statues of Saihei Hirose and Masayoshi Matsukata have survived, those for the statue of Kusunoki Masashige have all gone except that for the head. Actually, in the case of the statue of Saihei Hirose, the molds for the hands were missing. That was an additional difficulty that you experienced in remaking the statue, but still the principal wooden molds for the statue had survived.
Kitagou:
I wonder, too. For those of us who study sculpture, the molds are fascinating since they bear the traces of all the thoughts that went into the finished work of sculpture. So, in addition to the statue of Kusunoki Masashige in front of the Imperial Palace, I would love to see the molds. If they were still around, with a height of four meters you couldn’t help but notice them.
Sueoka:
I looked into the records and found that the Sumitomo family took charge of the set of wooden molds of the statue of Kusunoki Masashige in 1900 (33rd year of the Meiji era). They were transported to Osaka and stored in the dozo storehouse at Sumitomo’s Unagidani main residence (present-day Shimanouchi 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka City). In 1940 (15th year of the Showa era), an exhibition was held at Sumitomo head office to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the opening of the Besshi Copper Mines and the wooden mold of the head was among the exhibits. Currently, the wooden mold of the head is retained at Sumitomo Historical Archives, but the whereabouts of the rest of the molds is still unknown. It may be that they went missing during the war.
Kitagou:
If the wooden molds resurface some day, I would love to have them in my studio at Tokyo University of the Arts.
Sueoka:
We will need to have another talk once they reappear. Thank you for joining me here today.
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