was a Japanese sculptor. He is known as the sculptor of the 10-meter-tall Peace Statue in

Nagasaki Peace Park Nagasaki Peace Park is a park located in Nagasaki, Japan, commemorating the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945 during World War II. It is next to the Atomic Bomb Museum and near the Peace Memorial Hall. History Established in 1955, an ...

. He is most often referred to as "Seibo".

Biography

He was born in what was then

Minamiarima, Nagasaki was a town located in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 6,023 and a density of 259.05 persons per km2. The total area was 23.25 km2. On March 31, 2006, Minamiarima, along ...

, (now

Minamishimabara 270px, Ruins of Hara Castle is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,028 in 18378 households, and a population density of 240 people per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Minamishimabar ...

) on 16 December 1884 and entered

Kyoto City University of Arts (/Kyoto Univ. of Arts). The official abbreviated name is Kyōgei. is a public, municipal university of general art and music in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1880, it is Japan's oldest university of the arts (the predecessor of Tokyo Universi ...

to study sculpture in 1903. He graduated from there in 1907 and immediately enrolled in the

Tokyo School of Fine Arts or is a school of art and music in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter- ...

, from which he received a second sculpture degree in 1912. He began sculpting full-time after his discharge from military service in 1915 and, by 1921, he was a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. He was inducted into the

Japan Art Academy is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the Ministry of ...

in 1925. Kitamura submitted some of his work into an unknown event of the "Mixed Sculpturing" category of the

art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics Art competitions were held as part of the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. Medals were awarded in five categories (architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture), for works inspired by sport-related themes. Art com ...

, but did not win a medal. He is known as the sculptor of the 13-meter-tall Peace Statue in

. The statue and the park are near the

hypocentre A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...

where the atomic bomb exploded on 9 August 1945. The design for the statue was selected in an open contest, and unveiled to the public on 1 April 1955 when the park opened. The statue points to the sky, warning from where the bomb and death would fall, his left hand is stretched out in a gesture of peace, and his eyes are closed in prayer for the souls of those who died. One leg is folded in a position of meditation, but his left foot is on the ground, as he is prepared to stand and assist the people. The statue and park are a memorial to the people of Nagasaki who died in the atomic bomb explosion. Kitamura has received numerous other local and national awards for his work throughout his lifetime. He died on 4 March 1987 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

at the age of 102. Many of his works can be viewed at

Shimabara Castle , also known as and , is a Japanese castle located in Shimabara, Hizen Province (present day Nagasaki prefecture). This five-story white building stands in stark contrast to the black Kumamoto Castle in neighboring Kumamoto Prefecture. Overview ...

, where the '' yagura'' is a museum dedicated to his life and work.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitamura, Seibo 1884 births 1987 deaths Japanese men centenarians Art competitors at the 1932 Summer Olympics Artists from Nagasaki Prefecture Kyoto City University of Arts alumni Tokyo School of Fine Arts alumni 20th-century Japanese sculptors