Photo/Illutration Shiko Munakata (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A man wearing a headband and round “milk bottle” spectacles hummed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as he carved a woodblock at an astounding speed.

He was also so fast when sketching outdoors, photographer Ken Domon (1909-1990) told him to the effect, “You finish your sketch before I can press the shutter on my camera.”

The man was Shiko Munakata (1903-1975), an iconic “hanga” (woodblock print) artist who was born 120 years ago on Sept. 5.

Born to a local blacksmith in Aomori Prefecture, Munakata famously declared upon leaving for Tokyo that he would become the “van Gogh from Aomori.”

A memorial exhibition of his works is being held in his hometown. I visited it ahead of its scheduled opening in Tokyo next month.

His prints of the Buddha and mythological characters exude raw, primordial vitality, albeit with a hint of childlike innocence. His women are invariably voluptuous.

“The women portrayed by Shiko may look like racy courtesans, but they also look like goddesses of compassion,” according to Shoichi Kobayashi, a waka poet.

While I was in Aomori, I could feel the afterglow of the famed Nebuta Festival held there in August every year. And I sensed that the festival must have been the source of inspiration for the vivid colors that characterize Munakata’s works.

In his 30s, Munakata changed how he wrote “hanga” in kanji. He substituted the first character meaning “printing block” for one meaning “a board” to emphasize the need to "listen" to the materials on which he worked. And the older he became, the more he tried to go beyond such thinking.

He explained: “I must forget myself, forget about the carving knife and the woodblock, and I must forget about my thoughts and feelings. Or rather, I must eliminate them altogether, not just forget.”

Gone were all boundaries between himself and the rest of the universe. I suppose that is a state of awareness that can be attained only by true geniuses who have given themselves completely to the pursuit of their art.

Munakata’s state of selflessness must have been noticed by his close friend and poet Shinpei Kusano (1903-1988), who penned this piece: “The impoverished young man who came to Tokyo wanting to become van Gogh/ Did not become van Gogh/ But he became the Munakata of the world ... His near-sighted eyes flashing behind his glasses/ He carves/ He carves Munakata Shiko.”

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 7

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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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