Noguchi Kenzo (1901-1944), was from Kabata, Sakuragawa village, Gamo county (today’s Kabata-cho, Higashiomi), Shiga prefecture. After completing his education in Western-style painting at the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts), he returned to his home area and spent his life painting landscapes of the Omi region. The trend at that time was for artists to travel to the West to study and to produce works there, then exhibit their work. Kenzo’s own approach, in that context, is worthy of note.
At times, Kenzo would sign his paintings “Omi Noken” (where “Noken” is a concatenation of the No from Noguchi and the Ken from Kenzo). That signature suggests the pride he took in the Omi area’s natural features and his love for them.
As he was carrying on his energetic activities in the Omi area, he was appointed a jury member for the prestigious Shin Bunten (the official exhibition), only to fall ill and die the following summer. He was just forty-three.
The Nanga (Chinese-style) painter Noguchi Shohin (1847-1917) was his aunt, and Kenzo also built close ties to local poetry circles. He found further inspiration for his work in Nihonga (modern Japanese-style painting) and in tanka poetry. During his brief life, he left us works with vibrant, forceful brushwork.
The year 2021 would be Kenzo’s 120th birthday. Our museum has previously introduced groups of his work, presenting him as our outstanding local artist. Our collection includes twenty-nine of his paintings (three of which are on deposit) and four letters and other source materials. This exhibition focuses on masterworks from the paintings in our collection and source materials that remain in our region. The thirty-five exhibits highlight the connections between Kenzo and Shiga.
On August 27, 1938, Kenzo wrote a tanka poem in his journal:
My artistic spirit, about to catch fire, I entrust to this slender brush.
We hope you will enjoy his burning passion for painting and the world of his paintings, brimming with his intimate knowledge of his home.
In conclusion, we wish to take this opportunity to thank the many people whose cooperation has made this exhibition possible.