Shūzō Takiguchi

Shūzō Takiguchi
Shūzō Takiguchi
Born(1903-12-07)December 7, 1903
DiedJuly 1, 1979(1979-07-01) (aged 75)
Tokyo
OccupationPoet, artist, art critic
LanguageJapanese
NationalityJapanese
Alma materKeio University
GenrePoetry, painting
Literary movementSurrealism, Dadaism, Avant-garde

Shūzō Takiguchi (瀧口 修造, Takiguchi Shūzō; December 7, 1903 – July 1, 1979) was a Japanese poet, art critic, and artist.[1] He was the central figure of orthodox Surrealism in pre- and postwar Japan. Devoting his life to exemplifying the movement in its orthodox form. Starting in the 1950s, he began offering new experimental outlets for young postwar avant-garde artists who lacked opportunities for presenting their work in formats other than group exhibitions.[2]

Among his early activities in Surrealism, in 1937, in collaboration with the poet Chirū (Tiroux) Yamanaka, he organised the traveling Kaigai Chōgenjitsushugi Sakuhin-ten (Exhibition of Overseas Surrealist Works) in the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Nagoya.[3] Yamanaka had made contact with and corresponded with French Surrealists André Breton and Paul Éluard, helping to promote international exchange around Surrealism.[3][4] The exhibition introduced original Surrealist works to many Japanese audiences and left a lasting impression on the young poet-photographer Kansuke Yamamoto.[4]

In later museum accounts, including the Tokyo section of the 2022 Tokyo Photographic Art Museum exhibition Avant-Garde Rising: The Photographic Vanguard in Modern Japan, Takiguchi was also identified as a founder of the Avant-Garde Photography Association in 1938 and described as its spiritual leader.[5]

List of works

Books of poetry

  • Fairy's Distance (妖精の距離, Yōsei no Kyori), 1937
  • Poetic Experiments 1927–1937 (詩的実験1927–1937, Shiteki Jikken 1927–1937), 1967

See also

References

  1. ^ "Takiguchi Shüzō". Kotobanku. Asahi Shinbun. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  2. ^ Smith, Patti. "Decalcomanias of Shuzo Takiguchi". 50watts. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "The Dalí Foundation purchases Paul Éluard poetry collection in Japanese". Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí. May 28, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  4. ^ a b Aoki, Eiko (2013). "The Pacific Rim Divide of "Japan's Modern Divide"". Trans-Asia Photography Review. 4 (1). Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  5. ^ "Avant-Garde Rising: The Photographic Vanguard in Modern Japan". Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. Retrieved March 19, 2026.