NEWS - 2026.05.01
Talk Event Transcript “Stories You Should Know About Foujita: Journey, Technique and People”
In conjunction with the “Modern Legacy: An Important Japanese Collection of 20th & 21st Century Masters” sale, which focuses on a significant single-owner collection in Japan, we hosted a talk event, inviting WAKAYAMA Mitsuhiro, a curator at the Tokyo Station Gallery, as a guest speaker. The talk centered on Léonard Tsuguharu FOUJITA, whose work was among the top lots of the sale.
The talk explored how the artist image we recognize today—his signature bob haircut, round glasses, cats, milky-white backgrounds, and captivating female figures—was formed over time. Tracing not only his works but also his movements and personal networks, the discussion provided a comprehensive historical perspective.
This article summarizes the talk event, offering new insights into FOUJITA’s oeuvre and the broader creative landscape of his time by examining his deeply human qualities, including his longing for recognition and the setbacks he faced.
Event Overview
Talk Event: “Stories You Should Know About Foujita: Journey, Technique and People”
Date & Time: Saturday, March 14, 2026, 11:00-12:00 (Doors Open at 10:30)
Venue: Tokyo International Forum, Hall D5
Speaker: WAKAYAMA Mitsuhiro (Curator, Tokyo Station Gallery)
Speaker Profile
WAKAYAMA Mitsuhiro
Curator at Tokyo Station Gallery. His research focuses on modern and contemporary art history and the history of photography. After working at Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, contributing to the curatorial team of Aichi Triennale 2016, and serving at Arts Maebashi, he assumed his current position.
His primary areas of interest include modern and contemporary Japanese art history and the history of photography. He previously served as a curator at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, a member of the curatorial team for Aichi Triennale 2016, and a curator at Arts Maebashi before assuming his current position. In summer 2025, he curated the exhibition “Foujita: Painting and Photography,” which examined the artist’s life through the lens of photography and offered a new perspective on FOUJITA studies. He has also curated several solo exhibitions of artists with distinctive practices, including “Onishi Shigeru: Photography and Painting” (2026), “Yasui Nakaji 1903-1942: Photographs” (2023-2024), “KAINOSHO Tadaoto: Crossing Boundaries in Nihonga, Theater and Film.” He is co-editor of Photography? End? —Seven Visions and Seven Photographic Experiences (magic hour edition, 2022).
I. Main Discussion
1. Early Career: From Tokyo Fine Arts School to His Move to France (1886-1913)
FOUJITA was born in 1886. From an early age, he showed a strong interest in drawing. His father, FOUJITA Tsuguakira, was a military physician, and he grew up in a relatively wealthy environment.
He later enrolled in the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts), where he studied under KURODA Seiki, an influential painter who had studied Impressionism in Paris through a government-sponsored program.
However, FOUJITA already displayed a contrarian stance. In his graduation self-portrait, which is before adopting his signature bob haircut and round glasses, he made bold use of black tones, diverging from KURODA’s emphasis on bright color. FOUJITA had no desire to seek recognition from Japanese artistic authorities, setting his sights on France from an early stage.
2. Move to Paris and Exploration in Paris: Engaging with Trends and the First “Breakthrough”（1913–1917）
The first major turning point came in 1913. Accompanied by his wife at the time, TOKITA Tomiko, FOUJITA visited Keijō (present-day Seoul), where his father was stationed, to discuss his plans to study abroad. He then set sail for Marseille. A photograph taken during the voyage shows a still unrefined artist wearing what was known as a “colonial helmet (pith helmet).”
At the time, Europe was being swept by early 20th-century artistic movements such as Cubism and Fauvism. FOUJITA was initially strongly influenced by these trends and produced works in a Cubist style—for example, Cubistic Still Life (1914, Pola Museum of Art).
Among the earliest works he described with satisfaction as having “found his own pictorial language” is Gates of Paris (1914, Pola Museum of Art). A note on the verso of the canvas states that it was the first work he felt truly satisfied with after arriving in Paris. Rather than an imitation of Cubism or Impressionism, the work can be seen as marking the emergence of FOUJITA’s distinctive style.
3. Marginality and the Emergence of Self-Stylization: Inside and Outside the City Walls (1910s)
At the time, Paris was still encircled by city walls that retained traces of earlier periods of conflict. In the early stages of his career, FOUJITA frequently visited areas along the boundary between the inside and outside of these walls, painting scenes on the outskirts of the city, particularly around its gates.
These areas were home to many people who had been pushed to the social periphery within a strongly hierarchical society. FOUJITA himself also existed at a distance from the “center.” While it is unclear whether this stemmed from a sense of sympathy or other motivations, he consistently directed his attention toward such subjects with a quiet intensity.
4. Fascination with “Ancient Greek Life”: The Influence of Isadora and Raymond DUNCAN (c. 1914)
An important aspect of FOUJITA’s early career was his unconventional lifestyle. A photograph (Self-Portrait, 1914, Akita Museum of Art) shows him weaving while wearing a skirt. Driven by a desire to understand the foundations of Western art, he thought to recreate the lifestyle of ancient Greece.
This inclination was influenced by the ideas of the American dancers Isadora DUNCAN and Raymond DUNCAN, pioneers of modern dance, who advocated “Greek dance” —a form inspired by the bodily expressions seen in ancient Greek sculpture.
Together with the painter KAWASHIMA Riichiro, FOUJITA moved to the Dordogne region, far from Paris, where they managed historic châteaux such as Château de Marzac and Château de Reignac in exchange for accommodation. Living a largely self-sufficient life, he continued his artistic practice in this remote setting.
The region, home to prehistoric sites including the Lascaux caves, offered an environment that resonated with his interest in exploring the origins of Western civilization.
5. Inspiration from Ukiyo-e and Breakthrough: The Success of His Watercolors (1917)
Due to financial constraints, FOUJITA was unable to produce oil paintings in large numbers and instead focused on watercolor. Works from around 1917 show elements reminiscent of Buddhist imagery, as well as distinctive depictions of hands—for example, Jeune femme au voile dans un paysage (1917, private collection) and La Rêverie aux colombes (1917, private collection).
He later noted that he drew strong inspiration from ukiyo-e artists such as KITAGAWA Utamaro and SUZUKI Harunobu. Close-up compositions of female figures, delicate linear outlines, and elongated, graceful hands became defining features of his work, reflecting a distinctly Japanese sensibility.
This approach led to a major breakthrough: he sold over 100 watercolor works at Galerie Chéron. His solo exhibition attracted artists of the École de Paris. It is said that PICASSO spent nearly three hours viewing works, which led both FOUJITA and the gallery owner, Chéron, to feel confident in the exhibition’s success.
6. At the Heart of the École de Paris: The Imperative of Differentiation
At the time, Paris was a global center where artists from around the world gathered, and success required something distinctly one’s own. FOUJITA responded by strategically foregrounding Japanese elements in his work—at times almost overtly.
Among his contemporaries were already established artists more than a decade his senior, such as André Dunoyer de SEGONZAC and Maurice de VLAMINCK of the Fauvist circle. At the same time, painters of roughly his own generation, born in the 1880s, had begun to emerge in the early 20th century. Leading figures among them included Pablo PICASSO and Marc CHAGALL—artists from abroad who had already fully established their own distinctive styles. Following them were artists such as Chaïm SOUTINE from Lithuania and Amedeo MODIGLIANI from Italy, with whom FOUJITA shared the hardships of poverty while honing their practices. Also active in Paris were figures such as Marie LAURENCIN, a Paris-born painter, Moïse KISLING from Poland, Ossip ZADKINE from present-day Belarus, and Jules PASCIN from Bulgaria. Amid such a concentration of highly individual artists, establishing a presence required not only artistic ingenuity but also a certain degree of strategic, even commercial, awareness.
7. Establishing His Reputation: The 1920s and the “Milky White Ground”
FOUJITA’s reputation was firmly established in the 1920s. A defining moment came with his presentation at the 1921 Salon d’Automne, where he exhibited a group of works including My Room in Paris, Still Life with Alarm Clock (Centre Pompidou), Self-Portrait (Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium), and Nude (Petit Palais).
What drew particular attention at the time was his distinctive milky white ground. In contrast to the Fauvist painters, who emphasized thick layers of paint and vivid color, FOUJITA pursued a restrained palette and a smooth, carefully controlled surface. He combined this with extremely fine linear detail to evoke a distinctly Japanese sensibility—most notably, the delicate texture of skin seen in ukiyo-e depictions of women, which he sought to translate into oil painting.
8. Self-Presentation: The “FOUJITA Persona” Beyond East and West
In this way, FOUJITA established his position in Paris through a technique that was uniquely his own. Achieving social success in Paris required more than strong works; it also depended on recognition within artistic and social circles. He turned his identity as an “Oriental” into a point of distinction and, through skillful self-presentation, quickly became a celebrated figure in Paris.
In Self-Portrait (1929, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), he places himself within an interior that evokes a traditional Western painter’s studio, complete with a framed portrait of a woman in a gilded frame. At the same time, he depicts himself holding a fine brush and inkstone, with his signature bob haircut and round glasses, presenting an identity that is neither wholly Eastern nor Western.
Photography further amplified this self-presentation. FOUJITA collaborated with photographers such as Berenice ABBOTT and André KERTÉSZ, at times even staging scenes in his studio by recreating a Japanese-style teahouse for photographic shoots.
FOUJITA also designed and made his own clothing. Drawing on skills acquired during his impoverished years working at a tailor’s shop, as well as his experience of a self-sufficient lifestyle, he produced flamboyant garments himself using a sewing machine. In doing so, he cultivated the image of an artist who could sew as well as paint, incorporating this aspect of his persona into his broader self-presentation. Through these efforts, FOUJITA established a distinctive presence as an artist of remarkable versatility.
9. Travels Across the Pacific: Photography as an Image Archive (1930s)
After a period of great success, FOUJITA set out on a journey to Central and South America, prompted in part by personal circumstances, including a deteriorating relationship with his third wife, Youki, and issues related to unpaid taxes. Argentina, then often referred to as the “Paris of South America,” was thriving, and he traveled there with the expectation of finding new opportunities and income.
Departing from France, he traveled extensively over the course of nearly a decade, visiting Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Cuba, and Mexico, as well as the west coast of the United States, including California, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He then crossed the Pacific to Japan, and continued on to China, Vietnam, Singapore, and beyond.
FOUJITA declared his intention to create a “visual compendium of the peoples of the Pacific Rim,” and took a vast number of photographs throughout these travels. For him, photography functioned as a kind of visual notebook—an image archive that allowed him to revisit what he had seen, much like consulting a library or dictionary.
In particular, he focused on details such as facial features and patterns of clothing. These visual fragments were later recomposed and incorporated into his paintings. For example, Two Women in Rio de Janeiro (1932, Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum) draws on imagery of black Women in South America as well as church motifs. In Akita, he became particularly fond of a young schoolgirl named TOZAWA Utako, photographing her repeatedly and using her as a motif in multiple works.
FOUJITA’s gaze toward Japan itself appears almost that of an outsider. During his time in Akita, he photographed more than 200 scenes of life in a snowy region and collected a large number of folk artifacts. These materials ultimately culminated in his large-scale work The Events of Akita (1937, Hirano Masakichi Art Foundation; approximately 3.65 meters in width).
10. Adaptation During Wartime, War Paintings, and Postwar Criticism
In 1938, as Japan moved toward a total war system under initiatives such as the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement, FOUJITA began to appear in the media dressed in traditional Japanese attire and carrying a sword. By around 1941, he had also adopted a shaved head. To some at the time, this may have appeared as an exaggerated display by someone who had returned from abroad; however, it can also be understood as an attempt to present himself as more Japanese than anyone else—an adaptation to the social climate that can be seen as a form of self-presentation.
As seen in works such as Cats (1940, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), he also continued to reinforce the established image he had cultivated since the 1920s by persistently depicting cats. The work may be interpreted as an extension of his group compositions, using animals as a metaphor for human conflict.
FOUJITA eventually turned to the production of war paintings, among which Final Fighting on Attu (1943, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo [Indefinite loan]) is one of the most well-known. While some question whether these works effectively served their intended purpose of promoting national prestige or raising morale, they were subject to severe criticism in the postwar period.
At the same time, FOUJITA was involved in the collection of war paintings as a commissioned associate of the GHQ. As his name did not appear on the 1946 list of war crime suspects, he was not officially designated a war criminal. Nevertheless, criticism from the art community remained strong, leading him to decide to leave Japan.
11. Move to the United States, Return to Paris, and Renewal (1949-1950)
With the support of Frank SHERMAN, a civilian official of the GHQ, FOUJITA departed Japan from Haneda for the United States in 1949. Before leaving, he is said to have remarked, “Painters should simply paint. I hope the Japanese art world will quickly reach an international standard,” a comment noted for its sharp tone.
After holding a solo exhibition in the United States, he returned to Paris and, in 1950, presented a group of 20 works at Galerie Paul Pétridès. The exhibition marked a successful turning point in his career. Following the richly colored and densely worked surfaces of his Latin American period, as well as the heavier, more subdued tones of his wartime works, FOUJITA once again returned to his characteristic milky white ground. In Fortune Teller (1949, Hori Art Museum), a crow appears behind the elderly fortune teller, holding the ace of hearts in its beak. In tarot symbolism, the ace of hearts is said to represent renewal and success, and it is thought that FOUJITA incorporated this motif with a wish to set his career back on course.
12. Later Years: Color Photography, Religious Works, and the Chapel (1950s-1968)
In the 1950s, FOUJITA produced a large number of color photographs across Europe. The photographer KIMURA Ihei was reportedly struck by these color slides and brought them back to Japan, where they were published in magazines, influencing photographers working in the early stages of color photography.
Until then, many photographers had constructed images according to the logic of black-and-white photography, and the sudden introduction of color posed new challenges. FOUJITA’s perspective—bringing painterly considerations such as not only composition but also the balance of color into photography—proved, perhaps unexpectedly, to be influential in this context.
Because color photography records visual information in its entirety, including color itself, FOUJITA incorporated it into the construction of his compositions. One example is Children in the Garden (1958, Seitoku University), in which a photograph of children watching television is reconfigured into a composition reminiscent of a religious painting.
FOUJITA is also said to have projected his color slides, sharing them with others and enjoying them himself.
In his later years, he frequently depicted children and people placed on the margins of society. From a psychoanalytic perspective, one interpretation suggests that, following the frustration of a desire for recognition from various forms of authority—whether paternal, artistic, social, or national—he came to identify with the image of the innocent child, a reading that offers an intriguing insight.
Subsequently, FOUJITA turned toward religious painting, receiving baptism in 1959 and acquiring French citizenship.
His final major undertaking was the construction and interior decoration of a chapel near Reims, completed in 1966. Two years later, in 1968, he passed away in Zurich due to cancer.
FOUJITA’s life, as it has been reconstructed from his own writings, carries a distinctly dramatic quality. He was also aware that his words and actions would be preserved for posterity, as evidenced by the fact that he carefully recopied his diaries.
13. Portrait d'Hélène Franck
The work, Portrait d'Hélène Franck, painted in 1924 is featured in the present auction. It is undoubtedly one of FOUJITA’s representative works, with a well-documented provenance. The painting was first exhibited in Antwerp, Belgium, and has since appeared in several retrospective exhibitions.
FOUJITA produced a number of portraits of wealthy women from high society. For example, Portrait of Countess Rosita de Gainay (1923, private collection) closely resembles Portrait d'Hélène Franck. Both works employ his characteristic milky white ground and follow a conventional portrait format, presenting a centrally positioned three-quarter-view female figure, accompanied by carefully arranged furnishings. The somewhat subdued, almost withdrawn quality of the figure is also similar in both works.
In Portrait d'Hélène Franck, a textile known as toile de Jouy—commonly used in France and produced through woodblock printing—is depicted. FOUJITA had a particular affinity for rendering such details, and toile de Jouy was among the motifs he frequently incorporated into his work.
14. Technique: The Milky White Ground
FOUJITA’s signature technique, the “milky white ground,” is believed to have been established between 1919 and 1921.
Recent technical analyses have identified multiple white pigments in the ground layer, including lead white, calcium carbonate (derived from crushed shells), and barium sulfate. By preparing this ground with drying oils, an oil-based support layer is created; however, because oil and water repel each other, it is generally difficult for water-based ink lines to adhere to such a surface.
To address this, FOUJITA applied talc (soapstone) to adjust the surface properties, creating a condition in which water-based ink could be applied onto the oil-based ground. This innovation allowed him to achieve the extremely fine linear detail characteristic of ukiyo-e and traditional Japanese painting within an oil painting medium, effectively realizing a technical fusion of Western and Eastern practices.
The milky white ground can thus be understood as the result of FOUJITA’s sustained technical experimentation—an original solution developed through his engagement with and movement between two artistic traditions.
15. Related Artists and Networks (In the Context of the Auction)
The auction also featured works by artists connected to FOUJITA.
Among those with whom he had direct contact are Pablo PICASSO and Georges BRAQUE. While it is unclear whether FOUJITA had direct interactions with Tamara de LEMPICKA or Giorgio de CHIRICO, both maintained close ties with Surrealist circles, and may be considered, in a sense, part of a shared artistic network.
Figures with whom FOUJITA had particularly close relationships include Antoine BOURDELLE and Man RAY. During a visit to Man RAY’s studio, FOUJITA reportedly remarked that it resembled “the home of an amateur radio enthusiast,” and later noted that the experience helped him understand the methods of modernist photography.
On the Japanese side, artists associated with the Nika movement—such as SAITO Yoshishige, NAMBATA Tatsuoki, YOSHIHARA Jiro, and YAMAGUCHI Takeo—are also relevant. It is said that FOUJITA advised YOSHIHARA that “one must not imitate others,” a perspective that is often seen as anticipating the emphasis on originality in the later Gutai Art Association.
In addition, a younger generation of artists who moved to Paris after the war, including SUGAI Kumi, IMAI Toshimitsu, and DOMOTO Hisao, can be understood as belonging to a generation that was aware of FOUJITA’s success.
II. Q&A
Q1. On Funding
How did FOUJITA finance and manage funds while traveling across so many countries?
A1.
Financially, FOUJITA had earned income in Paris, and at that time the French franc was a strong international currency. Given that international financial systems were already well established, it is unlikely that he faced significant difficulties in accessing funds during his travels.
Q2. On His Relationships
FOUJITA is often perceived as having had numerous relationships with women. Could you elaborate on this aspect?
A2.
FOUJITA is known to have had five wives. His second wife, Fernande BARREY, is said to have introduced him to Galerie Chéron, although they separated shortly before his rise to success. His third wife, Lucie BADOUD, a French woman of Belgian descent known as “Yuki,” was given a Japanese name by FOUJITA, reportedly because of her “snow-like white skin,” and she continued to be known by that name thereafter.
His later life involved a number of complex developments, including a trip to South America with the red-haired dancer Madeleine LEQUEUX, her subsequent death due to a drug overdose, and his relationship with his fifth wife, HORIUCHI Kimiyo. It is also said that, following the war, issues of inheritance led him to formally reorganize his marital status, including divorcing Yuki and remarrying Kimiyo. As for relationships outside his marriages, my knowledge is limited, and I can only speak with certainty to this extent.
Q3. On His Reputation in Europe
After achieving great success in the 1920s, did FOUJITA maintain a status comparable to masters such as PICASSO in Europe? Or has his reputation been reassessed more recently, particularly in France? How did his international standing evolve over time?
A3.
By the 1920s, FOUJITA had received a French state honor and was recognized at a national level. While leading figures of his generation remained at the forefront, he was regarded as a peer among them.
After the war, his works continued to enter museum collections—for example, through donations to the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris—indicating that they had already attained the status of museum pieces during his lifetime. His works were also exhibited alongside those of artists such as PICASSO and MATISSE in exhibitions of postwar art, suggesting that his reputation remained relatively stable over time.
When preparing for a FOUJITA exhibition in the summer of 2025, I visited the Bibliothèque nationale de France. At that time, a staff member noticed my glasses and remarked that they were “like FOUJITA’s.” This left me with the impression that, even today, his name remains widely recognized among those engaged with culture in France.
III. Appendix: FOUJITA at a Glance: Journey, Technique and People
Edited based on the content of the talk event.
The Tokyo Station Gallery is currently presenting the “Karl Walser” exhibition through June 21, 2026. The exhibition will subsequently travel to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka. We warmly invite you to visit.
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