Ichiro Fukuzawa1898~1992 福沢一郎

Fukuzawa Ichiro was a Western-style painter from Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, widely regarded as the pioneer who introduced Surrealism to Japan in earnest. After moving to France in 1924, he studied Surrealist and socially satirical painting in Paris before returning to Japan in 1931. He participated in founding the Dokuritsu Bijutsu Kyokai (Independent Art Association) in 1930, and his European works shown at its first exhibition shocked the Japanese art world. He continued producing works marked by satirical reflections on humanity and society throughout the postwar period, and was honored as a Person of Cultural Merit in 1978 and received the Order of Culture in 1991.