Toshihiro Hamano was born in Takamatsu, Japan in 1937. A graduate of Tama Art University, he quickly rose to prominence as a graphic designer, sculptor and painter.
As a believer in contact and transmission, in 1971, he founded the Ryu Contemporary Art Group, which is an artistic entity that seeks to bridge eastern and western cultures and promote mutual understanding through dialogue.
Zen philosophy permeates Hamano’s art, particularly the expression of ‘fuji-ichinyo’, which expresses the idea that two things that seem to oppose each other are in fact one and the same. Thus tradition and modernity, self and other, West and East are brought together with the suggestion of an ideal future form: the beauty of benevolence.
One of Hamano’s life’s works is The Illustrated Life of Prince Shōtoku. The historical figure played a pivotal role in the spread of Buddhism (as well as Chinese inspired writing and governmental structures) to Japan. The story of the prince (574–622 CE), which has inspired Japanese artists since the 8th century CE onwards, is captured through panels depicting the four seasons. The Japanese Government donated a ‘spring panel’ to the European Parliament’s Art Collection in 2008.
Hamano’s most celebrated iteration of this story is the colossal four panels commissioned by Chugu-Ji Buddhist Convent superior Hinonishi Koson to decorate the sanctuary’s newly constructed Kyuwa-den pavilion. The panels are composed of gold motifs against a black background, use the maki-e technique, which consists of a lacquered surface covered with gold powder, and illustrate 70 famous episodes from the life of the legendary Prince Shōtoku. Each episode is framed with a different sized circle. Plants, flowers, trees – captured through the changes they undergo throughout the four seasons – are arranged along a wide stream that runs from one end to the other, reminiscent of ‘Rinpa’-style motifs.
This monumental creation was presented to the public at the Chugu-Ji in 2010 to celebrate 1 300 years of Japan’s former capital, Nara, and again in 2019 on the occasion of the new emperor’s enthronement. In 2021, the Chugu-Ji temple allowed the artwork to be exhibited abroad for the first time, in Nantes, to commemorate the 1 400th anniversary of the death of Prince Shōtoku, alongside a selection of recent works by Hamano. The exhibition then toured various institutions in France.
