Takamura Kōun

File:Koun Takamura cropped.jpg

{{nihongo|Takamura Kōun|高村光雲||March 8, 1852 – October 10, 1934}} was a Japanese sculptor who exerted himself for the modernization of wood carving and a professor of Tokyo School of Fine Arts, who dedicated himself to the education of the future generations.[https://kotobank.jp/word/高村光雲-18897 高村光雲 (Takamura Kōun) Kotobank (Japanese)]

Life and career

Born in Tokyo as Nakajima Kōzō,{{cite web|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/581146/Takamura-Koun|title=Takamura Kōun|publisher=Enciclopaedia Britannica|access-date=August 16, 2014}} he created the bronze statue of Saigō Takamori, completed in 1898, which stands in Ueno Park in Tokyo.{{cite web|url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/284.html|title=Takamura, Koun (1852 - 1934)|publisher=National Diet Library of Japan|access-date=August 16, 2014}} He is also the author of the statue of Kusunoki Masahige which stands in front of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.{{cite book|last=Takeuchi|first=Melinda|title=The Artist as Professional in Japan|page=152|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2004}}

He studied under Takmura Tōun (高村東雲), a sculptor of Buddhist statues, whose elder sister became Kōun's adoptive parent. He was the father of the poet and sculptor Kōtarō Takamura.{{cite web|url=http://taito-culture.jp/culture/asakura/english/asakura_guide_e_06.html|title=A Collection of Books|publisher=taito-culture.jp|access-date=August 16, 2014}}

One of his representative works is "Aged Monkey" (Rōen).[https://www.nhk.or.jp/japan-art/archives/151119/index.html "Aged Monkey" (Rōen) By Takamura Koun｜NHK WORLD The Magic of Japanese Masterpieces]

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20080530190329/http://www.horror-house.jp/e/cat3/koun-takamura18521934.html Koun Takamura's grave]

Category:1852 births

Category:1934 deaths

Category:20th-century sculptors

Category:19th-century sculptors

Category:Imperial household artists

Category:Japanese sculptors

Category:Artists from Tokyo Metropolis