The intriguing tale of Hikonobu Ise, a 94-year-old art collector and owner of Ise Foods, known as the “Egg King” internationally, is set to unfold at Sotheby’s New York on November 13th. A portion of his esteemed art collection, including Monet’s “Poplars on the Epte,” valued between 4.47 to 5.96 billion yen, will be auctioned off. The “Modern Evening Auction,” starting at 7 PM, will feature masterpieces of Impressionism, Surrealism, and Cubism. From the Ise Collection, Marc Chagall’s “Over the Town” (estimated at 1.78 to 2.68 billion yen), Paul Cézanne’s “Blue Plate” (450 to 750 million yen), and Monet’s aforementioned “Poplars on the Epte” will be up for bidding. Additionally,...

On February 2nd of this year, Japan’s Supreme Court issued a landmark decision regarding the right of publicity, a ruling that drew considerable attention as it was the first time the court had determined the significance and infringement criteria of this right. The case in question, widely covered in the media as the “Pink Lady case,” involved a lawsuit by the members of Pink Lady, a popular music duo, against a publisher for unauthorized use of their photographs in a magazine article titled “Pink Lady de Diet.” The article in question had featured 14 photographs of Pink Lady, explaining a diet method inspired by the choreography of their songs. The...

1921 (Taisho 10) Friday, December 2 The painter Taniuchi Rokuro was born in Ebisu, Tokyo. My father, Hisamatsu TANIUCHI, was from Kitaganitani Village (current Oyabe City), Toyama Prefecture, and worked as a dormitory keeper at a veterinary school. He was born as the sixth son, as Rokuro’s name suggests. Taniuchi Rokuro studied at Komazawa Jinjo Koto Elementary School (now Komazawa Elementary School in Setagaya Ward), but he was prone to getting sick, and from the time he was 6 ~ 7 years old, he was often confined to his sickbed because of his chronic asthma. Since I was in elementary school, my drawing grades have been top class. After graduating...

1921 (Taisho 10) Saturday, October 15 On this day, Ryusei Kishida painted Reiko Smiling. It is said to be the most famous masterpiece among many Reishi statues. It is now owned by Tokyo National Museum as an important cultural property. It is featured in history and art textbooks, so it can be said that it is very familiar to many Japanese people. It is a work with a very mysterious charm, and you will never forget the portrait once you see it. While it has a somewhat eerie atmosphere on a dark background, the red wool shawl with very fine details makes you feel warm. It shows how Ryusei Kishida...

1921 (Taisho 10) The movie “Disraeli” was released in the United States on Sunday, August 28. It is a film about the life of British politician Benjamin Disraeli in the early 19 century. Veteran actor George Arlis played the main character, Disraeli. Benjamin Disraeli is a highly respected figure in Britain, a Jewish who rose to be leader of Britain’s Conservative Party and served as prime minister for two terms. This film will be released in Japan 3 years later on July 8, 1924 (Taisho 13), but after the start of the screening, a part of the film was considered problematic and the screening was cancelled on July 12. At...

1921 (Taisho 10) Saturday, August 27 Actress Yoko Yaguchi was born in Hong Kong. His real name was Kiyo KUROSAWA. She is the wife of movie director Akira Kurosawa. As my father was an employee of Nippon Yusen, I spent my childhood overseas. After being born in Hong Kong, he returned home after finishing elementary school in Shanghai. She entered Showa Girls’ High School (currently Showa High School attached to Showa Women’s University), but at the age of 17, in grade 4, she dropped out of the school in admiration of actress Takiko Mizunoe and joined Shochiku Shojo Kagekidan in 1937 (Showa 12). In 1940 (Showa 15), he moved to...

1921 (Taisho 10) On Sunday, May 29 “Shingeki-za” was launched, which was newly established by young new actors like Shotaro Karyu. The first performance was held at Nihon-Meijiza. The program consisted of four works, “Enma’s Eye,” “Border Flower,” “Arabian Tent” and “Shoryo,” but due to lack of preparation, the first performance didn’t have a very good reputation. Later, Karyu led the post-war Daido Danketsu of the new school as the leader of the troupe. In 1955, he 30 received the Award of the Japan Art Academy. He later became a Bunkakorosha (Person of Cultural Merits) and a Living National Treasure. However, in 1965 (Showa 40), he suddenly died of myocardial...

On Thursday, May 26, 1921, a Western-style painter, Kinkichiro Honda died at his home in Iriyamazu, Omori, Ota-ku (Taisho 10). He was 70 years old. Honda was born in 1851 (Kaei 3) and is a former feudal retainer of Hiroshima Domain. He entered the Western studies school (Shudo Junior and Senior High Schools), a domain school in Hiroshima, and studied Western military science. He learned English from Fumio Nomura, who was a professor of Western studies at the time. Later, as a journalist, Nomura launched a satirical magazine called “Marumaru Chinbun” and was also active as a Freedom and People’s Rights Activist. Honda went to Tokyo after the Hiroshima clan...

On Friday, May 6, 1921(Taisho 10), Japanese-style painter Terukata IKEDA died. His real name was Shoshiro IKEDA. His wife, Shoen IKEDA, was also a famous female painter, and she was known as “dancing artist”, having produced many works together. He was good at Bijinga and Fuzokuga, and he also drew many woodblock frontispieces such as illustrations for magazines and newspapers and books. His wife died of tuberculosis at the age of 31 in 1917 (Taisho 6). Her husband died of tuberculosis at the age of 38. His grave is in Yanaka Cemetery in Yanaka, Taito Ward.

1921 (Taisho 10) Sunday, April 24: The opening ceremony of the Bunka Gakuin in Ochanomizu was held. It was established by Isaku Nishimura, Tekkan Yosano, Akiko Yosano and Hakutei Ishii. All the students are girls and there are 43 students. The school will have 25 teachers, including Kosaku YAMADA, Natsu KAWASAKI, Ikuo ARISHIMA and Kyoshi TAKAHAMA. He advocated a new education called “a free and original school that does not comply with national school regulations” and continued a liberal education called “Small but good.” and “foster a sensitive person” and received no subsidies from the government. It was the first time in Japan that an equal education for men and...