Kokuta Suda1906~1990 須田剋太

Suda Kokuta was a Japanese Western-style (yoga) painter born on May 1, 1906, in Fukiage, Saitama Prefecture (now Konosu City), as the third son of Suda Daigoro; his real name was Katsushiro. After graduating from Kumagaya Middle School, he settled in Urawa (now Saitama City) in 1927 and developed a deep admiration for Van Gogh and Sharaku. He initially produced figurative work and won special prizes at official exhibitions, but from around 1949 he turned to abstract painting marked by powerful, uninhibited brushwork. He is also widely known for his long-running illustrations to Shiba Ryotaro’s travel essay series “Kaido o Yuku” (On the Road), and died on July 14, 1990.