Product Description

7493            A bronze flower vessel of irregular square form

Impressed seal mark: Shūgorō

Entitled: Tani (Mountain stream)

Japan 20th century Shōwa period

Dimensions:  H. 11½” x W.3″ x D.2½” (29cm x 7cm x 6cm)

Tomobako (original box) inscribed:

Lid: Seidōko. Tani (Bronze vase. Mountain stream)

Lid interior: Shūgorō

Seal: Shūgorō

Hasuda Shūgorō (1915-2010) was born in Kanazawa City and in 1928 he entered the Ichikawa Prefectural Industrial School before continuing his studies at the Tokyo School of Art, graduating in 1938. He was invited to exhibit at the 5th Nitten (The Japan Fine Art Exhibition) of 1949 where his work received special recognition and in 1953 he received Nitten’s Hokuto prize. In 1961 Shūgorō participated in founding the Gendai Kōgei Bijyutsuka Kyōkai (Creative Crafts Association) and became an assistant professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. The following year, two of his pieces, with their instantly recognisable architectural form, were chosen as official gifts for the prime minister of West Germany and also the president of Mexico. In 1959, Shugoro was awarded the Mombudaijinsho, a highly regarded prize given by the Minister of Education.

Shūgorō received several commissions for large public sculptures and executed them following his philosophy of creating sculpture which interacts with its architectural environment. Later In 1976 Shūgorō founded Nihon Kinzoku Zōkei Kenkyūjyo (The Japan Metal Sculpture Institute) and in 1980 his work was included in the exhibition Japanischen Metallbidner at the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg. Shūgorō received the Japanese Order of Cultural Merit in 1991 and is considered one of the leading Post-war sculptors of Japan.

Works by the artist can be found in the collections of: Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Great People of Kanazawa Memorial Museum, Kanazawa; 21st century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; The National Art Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo