In the 1960s, Yasuo Segawa garnered attention in the picture book world for many of the works he created, including Fushigi na Takenoko (Taro and the Amazing Bamboo Shoot) and Inai Inai Baa (Peek-a-Boo). In 1977, he left the hustle and bustle of life in the city and moved to Kita Karuizawa in Gunma Prefecture, where he observed the shapes of nature, sketching plants and animals. In 1982 he moved into an old house in Aoki-mura, Nagano Prefecture, and named it “Tan Un Tei.” It was here that he started keeping a diary, which he called “Tan Un Tei Nichijo (Daily Life at Tan Un Tei),” and created picture books, […]

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Over the 12 years from 1963 until her death in 1974, Chihiro Iwasaki created cover illustrations for the magazine Kodomo no Shiawase (Children’s Happiness). The job enabled her to explore various artistic avenues and, as a result, her creativity blossomed, leading to the birth of many masterpieces. Over the course of these 12 years, we can see how Chihiro’s illustrations evolved. In this exhibit we trace this progress from its start in 1963 to Chihiro’s final work, “Baby,” through originals, piezograph artwork,* and other materials, including valuable magazines from the period. * Piezography is a modern print technology used by the Chihiro Art Museum to digitally archive and create high-quality […]

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Despite the worldwide prevalence of the internet and AI technologies in our lives and the touting of technological progress and material wealth, a day doesn’t go by in Japan in which we don’t hear a report of a children facing dire circumstances, suffering from poverty or abuse. The children depicted in Chihiro Iwasaki’s illustrations remind us of the hearts of children, which endure over time, as well as the true meaning of the richness of life. In this exhibit we focus on children’s happiness and the peace that Chihiro wished for throughout her life, showcasing such works as picture book originals from Yuki no Hi no Tanjobi (Snowy Birthday).

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The Chihiro Art Museum Collection contains not only original picture book art but also three-dimensional works created by picture book artists. We present a number of these three-dimensional works depicting a range of subjects, including people, animals, birds and fish, created from familiar materials by such artists as Evgeniĭ Rachëv from Russia, known for his picture book The Mitten, Józef Wilkoń from Poland, and Ryoji Arai from Japan.

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