Photo/Illutration Chisato Abe visits an exhibition of her gorilla paintings in Kyoto in September 2020. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

So many people, so many objects of fondness and lasting interest. And yet, one’s passion is not always readily understood by others.

Chisato Abe has been drawing and painting gorillas for 36 years.

The 64-year-old artist, who lives in Saitama Prefecture, has found herself at a loss for words every time she was asked to explain why she is so fond of gorillas.

Abe found her life’s passion during a school excursion as a sixth-grader.

She was so startled by the sight of a gorilla beating on its cage at a zoo in Takamatsu that she couldn’t stand. She saw two gorillas laughing at her state.

“I was surprised to learn that they understand human feelings,” Abe said.

Eager to see more gorillas, Abe has visited 22 countries around the world, including their habitats in Rwanda, Gabon and elsewhere.

“When it comes to gorillas, observing just one should be enough,” she remembers being told one day early in her career.

“Different gorillas have different characteristics and expressions,” Abe said. “Some bosses have integrity, but others do not. I want to portray their individual characteristics.”

When she goes to a zoo, Abe heads straight for the gorilla house and sketches the anthropoids until closing time.

The techniques she honed at an art university and her affectionate style gradually earned her public attention, and she began to hold one-person shows across Japan.

An exhibition of her works is running in Nagoya through Dec. 21, and a picture book containing her most important works has just come out from Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers Inc.

I have been enthralled by her fine brushwork. When I interviewed her, I asked Abe to initiate me in the art of painting a gorilla with oils.

I found it particularly difficult to paint the forehead, nose and mouth.

“When you paint an eye, you should stop breathing, get rid of all other thoughts and paint it with just one stroke,” she told me with the compelling drive of an artist.

A passage in the Analects of Confucius, the sayings of the ancient Chinese philosopher, goes: “Those who know it are not as good as those who like it, and those who like it are not as good as those who delight in it.”

It just takes having one thing that you like, delight in and can master. Life will shine on you forever if you have something that you can truly devote yourself to.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 12

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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