INOUE Yu-ichi’s Calligraphy and Postwar Graphic Design in 1970s-1980s
September 6 (Saturday) – November 3(Monday, National Holiday), 2025
First period: September 6 (Sat.) – October 5 (Sun.)
Second period: October 7 (Tue.) – November 3 (Mon.)
※Some works will be replaced during the exhibition period.
INOUE Yu-ichi, Hin（poverty), 1974, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
AD,D: Inoue Tsuguya C: Itoi Shigesato, New Year Poster 1986: Hin（Poverty),1986, Private Collection
Inoue Yu-ichi, Gutetsu (throughgoing folly) C, 1956, The National Museum of Art, Osaka
Inoue Yu-ichi, Ah Yokokawa Kokumin Gakko, 1978, The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma
INOUE Yu-ichi, Hana, 1957, Private Collection
Kurigami Kazumi, Portrait of Inoue Yu-ichi, Front, 1984, Private Collection
Fukuda Shigeo (Author: Inoue Yu-ichi, Editor, Writer: Unagami Masaomi, PUB: Kyūryūdou), The Book of Hana, 1971, Private Collection
AD, D: Inoue Tsuguya (A: Inoue Yu-ichi (UNAC TOKYO), CD: Kawakubo Rei, ADV: COMME des GARÇONS), COMME des GARÇONS '96-'97 AUTUMN WINTER DM, 1996, COMME des GARÇONS
This exhibition commemorates 40 years since the passing of the internationally appreciated calligrapher INOUE Yu-ichi (1916-1985). INOUE, while being an artist, lived a humble life, working as a teacher at the elementary and middle school for many years. He also experienced the bombing of Tokyo. His bold works, created by releasing strong characters onto the paper placed on that ground, are well known.
he present exhibition introduces INOUE’s representative works while trying to shed some light on the conditions of the postwar period, when his calligraphy found its recognition. Moreover, it also attempts to trace the concurrent connection between INOUE’s calligraphy and postwar graphic design. At the verge of the 1970s, many famous designers declared their sympathy for INOUE’s works, and from the 1980s, when the so-called “Saison Culture” incorporated design and advertising as a management strategy, INOUE’s calligraphy works were widely introduced. This area, encompassing SEIBU Shibuya and PARCO department stores, might be an ideal place to reflect on the connections between INOUE’s calligraphy and design.
Information
| Duration | September 6 (Saturday) – November 3(Monday, National Holiday), 2025 First period: September 6 (Sat.) – October 5 (Sun.) Second period: October 7 (Tue.) – November 3 (Mon.) ※Some works will be replaced during the exhibition period. |
|---|---|
| Admission | General: 1000 yen (800 yen); University Students: 800 yen (640 yen); High-School Students/Seniors 60 and Older: 500 yen (400 yen); Elementary/Junior-High-School Students: 100 yen (80 yen)
*Numbers inside parentheses ( ) are admission fees for groups of ten or more and for Shibuya residents. are admitted free of charge on Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays. *Shibuya residents are admitted free of charge on Fridays. *Persons with disabilities and up to one attendant are admitted free of charge. *Admission fees can only be paid in cash or with the Shibuya Ward cashless payment app "HachiPay". |
| Closed | Monday (except for September 15, and October 13, and November 3, 2025), September 16(Tue.), and October 14 (Tue.),2025 |
| Organized by The Shoto Museum of Art | |