JULY 6th 2001

On June 5, Mr. Kiyonaga Ito, the oil painter and the winner of the Cultural Medal passed away.
He was the chairman of the Hakujitsu-kai and adviser of the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition, and achieved great standing in artistic circles.
While being an artist I had great respect for, I was also fortunate enough to have him as my painting instructor. It was about 17 years ago when I asked him to paint my portrait.In the brush strokes, which reminded us of Renoir, only somehow more delicate and fantastic, I could find another me discovered by him.
Everybody says that his nude bears great resemblance to the Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. When depicting smooth and clear skin colors he not only used the usual skin color paints but also purples or greens. This original use of colors create indescribably soft and clear skin colors. Even when painting size 100 paintings, he used fine brushes and yet he painted them very dynamically. These are so powerful that it is hard to imagine they were painted by an artist 90 years old.
At the exhibition of his own works held in March at Takashimaya Department Store, I was fascinated by his pastels, as well as his oil paintings, and I stood transfixed in front of the pastels unable to drag myself away. They changed my concept about pastels.
Such a great painter has gone. I feel as if I am left with no one to look up to.
What I can do now is dedicate myself to creating woodblock prints, observing what I was taught by him. Mr. Ito, you were a strict yet gentle painter, and I loved you so much.

I pray his soul may rest in peace.