The Strength of "Having Nothing"-Moriichi Kumagai's Words, July 1967

The Strength of "Having Nothing"-Moriichi Kumagai's Words, July 1967

In 1967, Japan was in the midst of its rapid economic growth, new buildings lined the streets, and consumption and progress were regarded as virtues. In the art world as well, modern art and abstract expression were being celebrated, and the art world was enveloped in a glittering tide. Outside the clamor of the art world, the painter Moichi Kumagai quietly held his brush. He said, "A single line can last a lifetime." His words reveal his determination to reject glamor and competition, and his conviction in the truth that can only be born in solitude.

Kumagai was born in the Meiji era (1868-1912), and although he was considered a leading figure in the world of Western-style painting before the war, after the war he holed himself up in his home in Gifu, cutting off all social interaction as he continued his work. The electricity was cut off, the water supply was cut off, and life was extremely frugal, but for him, this life was "freedom" itself. Kumagai's paintings, which he created without seeking recognition from the outside world, are imbued with the tranquility of the universe in a single leaf or a single insect. Each line in Kumagai's paintings is the crystallization of time, solitude, and breath, showing that art is more about depicting the "feeling of life" than skill.

In the 1965's, Japanese society lost its "tranquility" in exchange for material wealth. Kumagai's way of life was a silent critique of that era. The strength of "having nothing" was his belief that true creativity and spiritual freedom could be found only when one had nothing and was devoid of greed. He told his students, "Look at nature, look at man," and he did not give them the answers, but showed them by his posture. His philosophy of silence reminds us of the origin of human beings in this clamorous age.

Kumagai Morikazu's paintings were not an act of turning his back on the times, but rather an act of reexamining the very foundations of the times. In a society surrounded by things, he saw the pulse of life in "nothingness. The strength that resides in a single line, like a prayer, continues to quietly ask the viewer, "What should I hold on to and what should I discard?