I am Takehisa Yumeji. Actually, I am trying to imagine the TV commercial if he were alive in this day and age. Like so many other great artists, Yumeji did so much in the time he had in this world. I visited the museum in Okayama City dedicated to his life and work and came to know the life of the man through an extremely knowledgeable manager at the museum. She told me that he is considered an important artist in the world but this museum is put forth as the link between the man and his birthplace. In fact his birthplace is preserved in Setouchi City.
I have to admit, I knew a bit about Yumeji from my art history classes at university but what I didn’t realize was that he was part of the Belle Epoque. Yumeji is often referred to as Japan’s Toulouse-Lautrec. I am sure he would have appreciated the comparison as he had great respect for the French impressionists. They lived in the same world. Yumeji made a living as an illustrator of his own books and the books of his clients. He was an illustrator for newspapers and sheet music as well. He designed and sold patterns for fabric used in making summer kimono. Yumeji also sold his woodcut prints at the shop he set up.
Yumeji traveled to Europe and America by ship and had a sincere interest in the world outside Japan, yet he also had a profound love for Japan. When the Great Kanto Earthquake struck he was in the Tokyo area and felt compelled to document the destruction and strife through his illustrations. Some of these are on display at the museum in Okayama. I asked the manager if Yumeji was a Christian due to some of the imagery in his work. She said that it was difficult to say whether he was a Christian. He certainly wasn’t what you would consider a practicing Christian but he was fascinated by churches, angels, wings and other Christian imagery.
If you are in Okayama, visit the Yumeji Museum. Even If you have been to the one in Tokyo a visit to the museum in his birthplace will set you on the path to the true Yumeji.
