Takeo Takei
(Japan), 1894 -1983
Born in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. He studied Western-style art and painting at the Tokyo Art School (known today as the Tokyo University of the Arts) and graduated in 1919. After completing his master’s degree, he started illustrating for such children’s magazines as Kodomo no Tomo (Children’s Friends). Takei was one of the major artists to illustrate the children’s magazine Kodomo no Kuni (Children’s Land), which was founded in 1922. In 1925, he held the Takeo Takei Doga Exhibition at the Ginza Shiseido Gallery, marking the first use of the Japanese term “doga,” which means illustrations for children. In 1927, he formed the Japan Association of Illustrators for Children with Shigeru Hatsuyama and Kiichi Okamoto, and in 1946 the Japan Association of Illustrations for Children. In addition to creating art for children, he engaged in printmaking and produced published books, single-handedly carrying out the design, writing, illustration, printing, and binding processes.
In commemoration of Takei’s accomplishments, the ILF Douga Museum of Art (https://www.ilf.jp/contact/english/) was established in 1998 in Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture.
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