Gen'ichirō Inokuma

Gen'ichirō Inokuma (猪熊弦一郎, Inokuma Gen'ichirō; born on 14 December 1902, died on 17 May 1993) was a Japanese painter. Inokuma is best known for his large-scale abstract paintings that allude to industrial landscapes, ladders, rail tracks, derricks, cranes, urban maps, and city planners’ blueprints. In November of the same year, the first exhibition of the New Creation School Association was held, in which Takeji Fujishima participated as a special exhibitor in addition to the members' works.

In 1936, Inokuma also participated in the art competition on the occasion of the Summer Olympics in Berlin, along with other New Creation School Association members including Ise, Koiso, Satō, and Wakita.

Paris years (1938–1940) Inokuma went to France in May 1938. In Paris, he exhibited his works at the Salon des Indépendants and socialized with Paris-based Japanese artists, including Tsuguharu Fujita. Inokuma also visited Henri Matisse in Nice. When Inokuma asked Matisse to critique his paintings, he was told, "Your paintings are too good," which Inokuma took to mean that he had not developed his own style. Inokuma arrived in Yokohama in August.

In 1944, Inokuma was hospitalized at Chiba Medical University Hospital with kidney complications and underwent surgery. In 1950, Inokuma designed the famous red on white Hana Hiraku (華ひらく) wrapping paper for the Mitsukoshi Department Store.

In 1951, Inokuma completed the mural Freedom for Ueno Station. He also received the Grand Art Prize of the newspaper Mainichi Shimbun for his mural Democracy for Keio University. Democracy was installed on the east and west walls of the Student Hall at Keio University's Mita Campus, which was designed by Yoshirō Taniguchi and completed in 1949. In the early postwar period, money and materials were limited, so instead of using canvas, Inokuma decided to use enamel paint on plywoods screwed together and sprayed with lacquer on the surface. The two resulting murals depicted young men and women in various poses, singing, playing musical instruments, and relaxing, among animals, in a very lively manner. The museum displays approximately 20,000 works donated by Inokuma himself, and holds special exhibitions of contemporary art. Kagawa Prefectural Cultural Center, ed. Inokuma Gen'ichirō ten = Retrospective Exhibition of Gen'ichiro Inokuma, exh. cat., Takamatsu: Kagawa Prefectural Cultural Center, 1982.