Saitō Motomu
1988 (Shōwa 63)
Donated by the artist
Saitō Motomu (1907-2003) was born in Takabatake-machi, in the town of Tsuruoka (modern Sannomachi, Tsuruoka City). In 1924, he established the Hakkōsha (the modern Hakuōsha group). He entered the Western art department of the Tōkyō School of Fine Arts (modern Tōkyō University of the Arts) in 1927, studying under Fujishima Takeji and Nakayama Takashi. Winning prizes at both the prestigious Nika Exhibition and the Dokuritsu Exhibition, he was awarded the Dokuritsu Bijutsu Kyōkai Prize in the 1941 Dokuritsu Exhibition. Returning to his home in Tsuruoka, he endeavored to promote the fine arts in his hometown via his work as both a professor and as the committee chairman of Hakuōsha. In 1991, he won the Dokuritsu Bijutsu Kyōkai Special Award for Distinguished Service. He often painted women in the nude, as well as landscapes.
The white hooded statues wearing a red bib called jizō protect the spirits of children who have passed away. It is said that the spirits of children who have passed away before their parents pile towers of stones in front of jizō to help their parents gain merit after they pass away, as well as protect themselves from demons. Demons knock over the stones every day, so the children continue this cycle forever. Travelers who pass by these areas pile stones to aid the spirits of the children.This piece is of the Sai no Kawara (literally, children’s limbo), an interesting jizō along the Kumano Kodō, located in Mie, Nara and Wakayama Prefectures. Thousands of stones have been piled in front of it.