A Critic Who Stepped Beyond Words: Shuzo Takiguchi, 1903–1979

Shuzo Takiguchi was a poet and art critic born in Toyama Prefecture in 1903. He studied under Junzaburo Nishiwaki at Keio University and developed a strong interest in Surrealism from the late 1920s onward. In 1930, he translated André Breton’s *Surrealism and Painting*, playing a key role in introducing Surrealist art to Japan. The source discusses Takiguchi’s approach—which, in contrast to the kind of criticism that delves into the inner workings of literary works, as exemplified by Hideo Kobayashi—was open to multiple artistic fields, including painting, photography, and film. After the war, he became deeply involved with young avant-garde artists through venues such as the Yomiuri Independent Exhibition and the Takemiya Gallery, and in 1958, he served as commissioner and juror for the Japanese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. From around 1960, he began creating his own drawings and decalcomania works, crossing the boundary from critic to artist. For Takiguchi, words were not merely a tool for explaining works of art, but experiments in themselves for approaching unknown forms of expression.