TANIUCHI Rokuro’s Works; from the covers of the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho
Stay good friends

In the TANIUCHI Rokuro Pavilion, we display the original paintings for the covers of the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho. Creating them was the life work of Taniuchi Rokuro (1921-1981), who produced 1,300 of them. Here we present a selection from that huge oeuvre of fifty paintings at a time, changing the exhibits four times a year. The choice of paintings is based on a variety of themes, with a new theme chosen for each exhibition.

In this exhibition, we have focused on the friendships among children as Taniuchi Rokuro depicted them. Children appear in almost all his paintings. To him, the classic form of childhood relationships is modeled on his own family composition and based on ties between siblings, but he also depicted countless friendships between children who were not family members.
 The children in his paintings do more than take part in the annual events at school and in their community. Each day, after school lets out, they gather to play together in many ways. They also come to know each other, and cultivate friendships, as they spend time together engaged not actively playing but perhaps just hanging out. The children who get along well with each other develop close friendships. But there comes a time when even those irreplaceable friends must part and set out on their own journeys. The loneliness that parting with friends brings is one of the compelling themes that distinguish Taniuchi’s work.
To continue childhood friendships in adulthood is a wonderful thing. It is, however, actually quite difficult to do. In Taniuchi Rokuro’s works, he has captured vibrant times spent with friends, an experience possible only in childhood.