Haruko Hasegawa

Haruko Hasegawa (; 1895 – 1967) was a Japanese painter, illustrator, and writer. She was known for Yōga (Western-style Japanese painting) war painting, and was a member of the Kokugakai arts organization. Hasegawa visited war zones in the 1930s and 1940s, to highlight Japanese armed forces and patriotism in both her illustrations and writings.

Early life and education Haruko Hasegawa was born on February 28, 1895, in Tokyo. Her mother came from a hatamoto family, while her father practiced law, and he was one of the first in Japan to do so in a modern manner. Her older sister was Shigure Hasegawa.

Hasegawa travelled to France in 1929, and held solo exhibitions at Zac Gallery in Paris that year and the following year. In 1939, Hasegawa was the only female founding member of the "Army Art Association" . In February 1943, Hasegawa was among the founding members of the "Women Artists Service Corp." , a paramilitary organization sponsored by the Imperial Japanese Army to engage women in patriotic activities. When World War II ended, Hasegawa was ostracized in Japanese painting circles as a result of her work during the war.

A few years before her death, she illustrated The Tale of Genji. She died on May 7, 1967, in Ota Ward, Tokyo.

Exhibitions

1929, Zac Gallery, Paris, France 1930, Zac Gallery, Paris, France 1931, 6th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1932, 7th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1933, 8th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1936, 9th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1939, 11th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1940, 12th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1941, 13th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1942, 14th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1943, 15th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1944, 16th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1952, 17th Kokugakai Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan