Tokuriki Tomikichirō (徳力富吉郎) (artist 1902 – 2000)
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Biography:
The British Museum writes of this artist:
"Print artist. Tokuriki was born in Kyoto, where he has always worked. The last of a long line of traditional-style painters, he turned early to woodblock prints and became a leader of the Kyoto 'Sosaku Hanga'. He graduated from the Kyoto City School of Fine Arts and Crafts and then from the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting in 1924. In 1928 he studied 'Nihonga' painting under Tsuchida Bakusen (1887-1936) and Yamamoto Shunkyo (1871-1933) and exhibited with Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai, but about the same time in 1929 he changed to woodblock printing under the influence of Hiratsuka Un'ichi and began to contribute to the early print magazine 'Han'. He was a member of Nihon Hanga Kyokai from 1932, and active in promoting 'Sosaku Hanga' in Kyoto. He was a co-founder of the Kyoto magazine 'Taishu hanga' in 1932, which helped create the sense of a local school of the Creative Print Movement much encouraged by Hiratsuka. He produced many sets of prints before and during the Pacific War based on traditional subjects, such as 'Shin Kyoto fukei' ('New View of Kyoto', 1933-4), which also included designs by Asada Benji... and Asano Takeji (b.1900), and 'Tokyo hakkei' ('Eight Views of Tokyo', 1942). Most of these were published by Uchida of Kyoto, but after the war Tokuriki set up his own publishing company called Matsukyu, which also began to teach block-carving to artisans and artists, in later years many of them foreigners. In 1948 he also set up a sub-company called Koryokusha consisting of artists who would produce their prints under the financial umbrella of Matsukyu. Later sets include 'Hanga Kyoto hyakkei' ('One Hundred Print Views of Kyoto', 1975). Tokuriki has continued to be active in teaching and writing, producing a long series of articles on print techniques in 'Hanga geijutsu' magazine during the 1970s."
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Osaka Prints gives a more thorough biography:
"Tokuriki Tomikichirô (徳力富吉郞), born in Kyoto, was a twelfth-generation member of a family long associated with official artists of the Hongan Temple (本願寺) in Kyoto, including the Kano-school painter Tokuriki Zensetsu (善雪徳力 1591-1680), whose given name Tokuriki (徳力) the young artist adopted as his art name. He graduated from the Kyoto City School of Fine Arts and Crafts and the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting in 1924. He also studied nihonga (Japanese-style painting: 日本画) at the private school of Tsuchida Bakusen (土田麦僊 1887-1936) and with Yamamoto Shunkyo (山元春挙 1871-1933).
Tokuriki's first introduction to woodcuts came at the age of 12 or 13 (circa 1914) with his grandfather, a painter who had taken up woodblock printing around Meiji 23 (1890). In addition, Tokuriki took some short courses on printmaking given by Hiratsuka Un'ichi (1895-1997) in Kyoto, and also studied printmaking with the carver Keikichi Hono and the printer Oiwa Tokuzô, who reputedly was a printer for Utagawa Hiroshige III (1842–1894).
From 1929 Tokuriki focused on mokuhanga (block prints: 木版画), contributing to the early print magazine Han ("Print": 版), which realized eight issues (1928-29) under the leadership of the aforementioned Hiratsuka Un'ichi and Maeda Masao (1904-1974). Tokuriki published many sets and series before World War II, and afterwards established the Matsukyû (末詳 or まつ九) Publishing Company to produce and distribute his prints. He also issued prints through its subdivision, Kôrokusha (紅録社), formed by Tokuriki, Kamei Tôbei (亀井藤兵衛 1901-1977), and Kotozuka Eiichi (琴塚英一 1906-1979). In addition to his self-carved, self-printed hanga, he published works by other artists such as Takahashi Tasaburô (高橋太三郎 1904-1977) and the aforementioned Kotozuka Eiichi and Kamei Tôbei. A large number of Tokuriki's designs were republished in later years and it is sometimes difficult to identify the exact year of printing for a given impression. More scholarship is needed in this area.
For much of his long life Tokuriki taught many artisans and artists, some of them non-Japanese [like Daniel Kelly], and he traveled extensively, thus his influence was significant in the world of hanga. He was also a co-founder of the Kyoto magazine Taishû hanga ("Popular Prints": 大衆版画) in 1931 (two issues, August and November). The magazine, although short-lived, helped promote local support in Kyoto for sôsaku hanga (creative prints: 創作版画), something Tokuriki was dedicated to for much of his career. For decades thereafter he continued to provide encouragement and instruction to those interested in hanga, including writing his little book on the subject in 1968 (Tokuriki Tomikichirô: Woodblock Printing. Trans. Arimatsu Teruko; Osaka: Hoikusha Publishing Company, 1968), and producing a long series of articles on print techniques in the magazine Hanga geijutsu ("Print Art": 版画藝術) in the 1970s."
