Shuzo Takiguchi and Junzaburo Nishiwaki: Focus on the Chromatopoiema Print Collection

Junzaburo Nishiwaki (1894-1982) spent time as an exchange student in London, where he personally experienced the remarkable literary activities of figures such as James Joyce and T. S. Eliot, as well as the major artistic transformation in Europe—the shift from Dadaism to Surrealism. Upon his return to Japan in 1926, at the youthful age of 33, he was appointed professor in the Faculty of Letters at Keio University.
Around that time, Shuzo Takiguchi having once given up on literature and intending to live out his life as a substitute teacher, was persuaded by his sister to re-enrol at Keio University at the age of 21.
The following year, when Nishiwaki began teaching there, a group of students who admired Nishiwaki, including Tamotsu Ueda, Toshio Ueda, Saku Sato, Takiguchi, and Konosuke Miura (from Toyama Prefecture) began to gather at the Hakujuji Coffee Shop in Mita after school to exchange thoughts on literature and art. Afterward, they would move to Nishiwaki’s home in Tengenji and continue their spirited discussions late into the night. There, the students encountered the fresh, invigorating spirit of the latest European art that Nishiwaki had experienced firsthand, which profoundly influenced them.
Perhaps as a result, Takiguchi gradually shifted from symbolist poetry to Surrealistic expression around 1927, forming the poetic style for which Takiguchi later became widely known. In this sense, Nishiwaki can be regarded as the most important mentor and poet for Takiguchi, opening the door to surrealism for Takiguchi.
Also in 1927, Takiguchi published Japan's first essay on Nishiwaki, “From randomnote”, in issued no. 17 of “Yamamayu”, (written in late October 1926). Later, Takiguchi's essay “From Dada to Surrealism” appeared at the end of Nishiwaki’s “Chogenjitsu shugi shiron”(1929). Their poetic dialogue continued as well: when Nishiwaki published “The Theory of the World’s Creation” (1926), Takiguchi responded with his own poem “Chikyu sozo setsu” (1928), seemingly written with Nishiwaki's work in mind. Even after the war, their mutual respect endured—Nishiwaki's “Tengenji Story for Shuzo Takiguchi” (1969) was met by Takiguchi's “Collage Pome with Blue Feather for Mr.Nishiwaki”(1972), each dedicating their works to the other. Their close relationship continued throughout their lives.
This exhibition focuses on “Chromatopoiema”, the collaborative poetry and print collection by Nishiwaki and Yoshikuni Ida to which Takiguchi contributed a laudatory text, preserved in The Collection of Shuzo Takiguchi. Through these and other related works, the exhibition explores the relationship between Nishiwaki and Takiguchi, two figures who played pivotal roles in the development of Surrealism in Japan.