was a Japanese

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. Tatsu Hirota was born in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, Japan, where she lived until her death in 1990. Hirota is best known for her paintings of ''jinbutsu'' (

figure painting A figure painting is a work of fine art in any of the Painting#Painting media, painting media with the primary subject being the human figure, whether clothed or Nude (art), nude. Figure painting may also refer to the activity of creating such ...

). She is widely noted for her paintings of nudes and

maiko A is an apprentice geiko in Kyoto (in Tokyo it is geisha). Their jobs consist of performing songs, dances, and playing the or other traditional Japanese instruments for visitors during banquets and parties, known as . are usually aged 17 ...

girls.

Early life

Although she grew up in a very poor family, Hirota loved to paint as a child and by the age of 12 had decided that she wanted to become a painter. She began to pursue her ambition. After beginning her studies with one painter and feeling as though she wasn't learning much, she opted for a change. Hirota's second master was Kainosho Kusune, who later introduced her to

Takeuchi Seihō (December 20, 1864 – August 23, 1942) was a Japanese painter of the '' Nihonga'' genre, active from the Meiji through the early Shōwa period. One of the founders of ''nihonga'', his works spanned half a century and he was regarded as master ...

(1864-1942), Kyoto's most famous painter at the time, in the 1930s. Late
Nishiyama Suishō
(1879-1958) began teaching her. During this time she met her husband-to-be,

Kuma Mukai was a Japanese painter born in Osaka Prefecture, Japan in 1908. He lived for some time in Kamakura before his death in Tokyo in 1987. He is well known for his paintings of nude women, Buddhist images, and floral designs. Early life After he grad ...

, who was also studying as a painter under Nishiyama. The couple had two children, a son, and a daughter.

Career

She exhibited and thrice won top prizes at th
Nitten
and Shin-Bunten. In 1974 she became a member of The Creative Painting Society, Soga-kai in 1974. Many museums in Japan house her works, with others in private collections. Hirota is largely credited for introducing the nude as art to the mainstream in Japan. Nudes were dismissed with disdain before that time. While Hirota was actively painting for some years prior, she completed her first nude piece, aptly titled ''Nude'' in 1951. Female subjects were the primary focus of her work and many of them in traditional Japanese dress with vibrant colors. From the 1970s until her death in 1990, she produced many works that were reproduced in art books, including one dedicated to only her works. She enjoyed painting

as well, and her improving talent and skill was evident in her work. Hirota loved to paint women like

as independent humans, not as accessories or as if they belonged to men. Any women she painted looks very attractive, vivacious and proud. She continued to paint up until a few days before her passing in 1990.

References

External links

Saru Gallery
(Netherlands):
The Japan Times
(News article)
The Japan Times
(News article) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirota, Tatsu 1904 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Japanese women artists Artists from Kyoto Japanese painters