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Soji Yamakawa

Soji Yamakawa Born in Fukushima, in 1908.At age 23 in 1931, he established a production company of “a picture-story show (which has a series of colored pictures depicting the content of the tales)” and published the first original picture-story “Shonen Oja (King of Boy)”. In the following year, 1932, he showed “Shonen Tiger (Tiger Boy)”, and it became incredibly popular. After enduring and making it through the war, Yamakawa again showed Shonen Oja (King of Boy) on the war-mangled streets of Japan. Released in book form in 1946, it became the first best selling book after the war and established a genre of its own. In 1951 Shonen Kenya (Boy in Kenya) was serialized in the national newspaper and he soon left his mark in history by making his way to the top of a list of millionaires as an artist, overtaking Taikan Yokoyama (who was the highest authority on Japanese painting then) in 1954.

Exhibition images

Works

Keiichi Tanaami - Shonen Tiger 01
Shonen Tiger 01
by Keiichi TanaamiSoji Yamakawa
$1,700
Keiichi Tanaami - Shonen Tiger 02
Shonen Tiger 02
by Keiichi TanaamiSoji Yamakawa
$1,700
Keiichi Tanaami - Shonen Oja
Shonen Oja
by Keiichi TanaamiSoji Yamakawa
$1,700

Related Topics

Finding pleasure under hard circumstances: Interview with Keiichi Tanaami
Mar. 17, 2014
[Interview]
Keiichi Tanaami is a painter who started his career as a successful graphic designer/art director. Now, he is in mid-70s, but still his creation is developing and all of his works are really energetic. His unique colors and motifs were brought from his life experiences including the war and a serious illness. Although it sounds tragic to us, Tanaami got through those difficult circumstances by finding a source of pleasure in art. He'd drawn anything attracted him and they became all of his important motifs.Read More >>
Interview with Nanzuka, Gallerist of NANZUKA
Sep. 22, 2012
[Interview]
NANAZUKA is a gallery found in 2005, introducing artists with novel expression. Some are renown illustrator and fashion designer whom we might have missed to appreciate as an artist. Nanazuka introduces them to place them into the art history...Read More >>
Gallerist talks about Soji Yamakawa
Sep. 14, 2010
[Interview]
We interviewed Mr. Nanzuka, Gallery owner of Nanzuka Underground, about the art...Read More >>
Gallerist talks about Keiichi Tanaami
Sep. 02, 2010
[Interview]
We interviewed Mr. Nanzuka, Gallery owner of Nanzuka Underground, about the art...Read More >>
New Arrival: Silkscreen by Tanaami and Yamakawa
Mar. 19, 2010
[Announcement]
A dynamic duo, Keiichi Tanaami and Soji Yamakawa create prints/paintings that appear to pulsate with an electric energy not unlike like that of a neon urbanscape. Read More >>
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