I sometimes see the name "Taiheiyo Art Association" in painter profiles at exhibitions, so I was surprised to see the real thing right in front of me. Just recently I remember seeing works by Tsune Nakamura, Morie Ogiwara, and Kogan Tobari, who came from the Taiheiyo Art Association. Standing in front of a place that produced so much talent was really moving.

Across from Suwa Shrine, our family's guardian shrine, is the Taiheiyo Art Association, the oldest art school in Japan. It's the school where a young Chieko Takamura (née Naganuma) studied with the aim of becoming a Western-style painter. It originally moved from the former Yanaka Shimizu-cho to Yanaka Mashima-cho, and stayed in Yanaka for a long time until it was destroyed in the air raids. It was also one of the places the wandering painter Toshiyuki Hasegawa would casually drop by. On the 1st floor of the current pink building, reopened after the war, there's also a gallery where you can enjoy works by people associated with the school from the Meiji era to the present. You can also casually learn painting, sculpture, and more. It's a good idea to check the website for exhibition information.

On my way back from the Kaisei Junior & Senior High School culture festival, I happened to pass by and there seemed to be some kind of exhibition on. It felt a bit hard to walk in, but I worked up the courage and went in. There was a small gallery.

This is an art institute that, from the late Meiji era through the Showa era, produced many painters and had no small influence on Western-style painting in Japan. Nearly 60 years ago, when I was an art student, I was greatly influenced by a bohemian who came from this institute, not only in painting but also in how to live and how to think. Those days come back to me as if they were just the other day, a nostalgic page from my youth. Even now, they steadily continue to teach in a way that brings out each person's individuality. The gallery near Nishi-Nippori Station is open to the public, and solo and group exhibitions are held there. When I visited after a long time, there was an exhibition of small works by members of the Tokyo branch. Everyone was skilled, and the paintings were refined and mature.

Apparently it carries on the lineage of the Taiheiyo Gakai, which has led Japan's Western-style painting world since the Meiji era. There also seemed to be something like a small gallery.