Fumio Asakura

Sculptor. Born on March 1, 1883, in Ikezai, Ono County, Oita Prefecture (now Bungo Ono City) as the third son of Watanabe Yozo. Adopted by the Asakura family at the age of nine, he dropped out of middle school in 1902 (Meiji 35) and moved to Tokyo to live with his older brother, Watanabe's eldest son. The following year, in 1903, he enrolled in the sculpture department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and after graduating, he remained in the graduate school until 1909. His work "Darkness," which was selected for the second Bunten exhibition in 1908, won second prize and attracted a great deal of attention. He went on to win numerous Bunten exhibitions, and served as a judge for the Bunten and Teiten exhibitions from 1916 (Taisho 5). He became a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1921, a member of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in 1924, but resigned his membership in 1928 (Showa 3), and returned when the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts was reorganized in 1935. He became a member of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in 1937, and an Imperial Household Artist in 1944. He was awarded the Order of Culture in 1948 (Showa 23). He passed away on April 18, 1964. With his outstanding sculpting techniques and realistic depictions based on faithful observation of nature, he had a great influence on official sculpture exhibitions throughout the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras. His representative works include "Hanging Cat," "Grave Guardian," "Portrait of Shimazu Nariakira," and "Portrait of Ota Dokan." Many of the original models are preserved at the Asakura Museum of Sculpture (Yanaka, Taito Ward, Tokyo). His eldest daughter was the stage designer Setsu Asakura (1922-2014), and his second daughter was the sculptor Kyoko Asakura (1925-2016).

[Tamon Miki January 19, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

彫刻家。明治16年3月1日、大分県大野(おおの)郡池在(いけざい)（現、豊後大野市）に渡辺要蔵の三男として生まれる。9歳のとき朝倉家の養子となり、1902年（明治35）中学を中退し、実兄の渡辺長男を頼って上京。翌1903年東京美術学校彫刻科選科に入学、同科を卒業後1909年まで研究科に在籍。1908年の第2回文展に入選した『闇(やみ)』が一躍二等賞となって大いに注目され、文展で受賞を重ね、1916年（大正5）以降文展および帝展の審査員を務めた。1921年東京美術学校教授、1924年帝国美術院会員となるが1928年（昭和3）会員を辞任、1935年帝国美術院改組で復帰、1937年帝国芸術院会員、1944年帝室技芸員。1948年（昭和23）文化勲章を与えられた。昭和39年4月18日没。卓抜な彫塑技術と忠実な自然観察による写実描写で、明治、大正、昭和三代を通じて官展系彫刻に強大な影響を与えた。代表作に『吊(つる)された猫(ねこ)』『墓守』『島津斉彬(なりあきら)公像』『太田道灌(どうかん)像』など。多くの原型が朝倉彫塑館（東京都台東区谷中(やなか)）に保存されている。長女は舞台美術家の朝倉摂(せつ)（1922―2014）、次女は彫刻家の朝倉響子（1925―2016）。

［三木多聞　2017年1月19日］

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