Japanese
Greetings
For many years now, I have painting scenes that are gradually disappearing from Japan, such as landscapes, festival and seasonal images. I am sure that there are many places around you where you can catch a glimpse of nature’s beauty. There may be a shop on a street corner or other sights that remind you of the good old days. These days, it’s easy to quickly drive by such spots but it’s nice to take a leisurely walk and take a good look once in a while.
I have launched a new website.
Perhaps you can take a little time to look at my works and read my profile.
Then, we can explore the World of Taizi Harada together.
| 1940 | Born on April 29 in Kanmachi, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture. |
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| 1941 | Contracted polio, which resulted in a walking disability |
| 1944 | His family moved to Igara-mura, Shimo-Ina District (currently Kitagata, Iida City) in Nagano Prefecture as pioneering farmers, where he spent 10 years until junior high school. |
| 1953 | His father restarted working as a signboards maker in Suwa City. Returned to Suwa and transferred to Kami-Suwa Junior High School. |
| 1956 | Entered the part-time course at the Suwa Jitsugyo High School. Started oil painting. Won prizes in two national poster contests during high school, and decided to become a graphic designer. |
| 1960 | Entered the Musashino Art University where he majored in oil painting. In the following year, entered the Musashino Art University Junior College of Art and Design to study commercial design. |
| 1963 | Graduated from the Department of Commercial Design at the Musashino Art University Junior College of Art and Design. |
| 1964 | Established Hokodo Design Studio in Kanmachi, Suwa and started working as a graphic designer. |
| 1965 | While working as a designer, started painting pictures based on memories of Igara-mura, where he spent his boyhood. |
| 1973 | Learned about Ivan Rabuzin from a newspaper article and was deeply moved by the works and the way of life of the naïve artist from the former Yugoslavia, who said he painted “for the livelihood of the spirit.” He aspired to become a naïve artist. |
| 1980 | Received the 29th Shogakukan Art Award. |
| 1981 | Taking the suggestion of a close friend who said he should go out to see real scenery instead of painting only from childhood memories, he started to travel around Nagano Prefecture to search for inspiration for paintings. |
| 1982 | Contributed works to the Asahi Shimbun for a weekly picture-essay series entitled “The World of Taizi Harada,” published on the front pages of the newspaper’s Sunday supplements (from April 1982 to September 1984). A series of exhibitions of these works entitled “The World of Taizi Harada” was held in 22 locations around the country from 1984. |
| 1985 | Traveled to the former Yugoslavia and met naïve artist Ivan Rabuzin. |
| 1987 | Held an exhibition entitled “Three Naïve Artists – Taizi Harada and His Friends from Yugoslavia” in various locations around the country. |
| 1989 | An exhibition of his works, “The World of Taizi Harada – Depicting the Four Seasons of Japan,” was held in five major cities in the United States for two years from December. |
| 1991 | To commemorate the U.S. tour, the exhibition “Taizi Harada Goes to America” was held at 33 locations around the country. |
| 1993 | Presented “Taizi Harada Interactive Art Museum” at the Shinshu Exposition (July – September). |
| 1997 | Participated in the Art Festival of the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano with the exhibition “The Winds of the Four Seasons – The World of Taizi Harada.” |
| 1998 | Taizi Harada Art Museum opened on the shores of Lake Suwa. |
| 1999 | Received the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon. |
| 2000 | A series of exhibitions of his works “Taizi Harada’s 100 Nursery Rhymes and Songs of Japan” was held in 20 locations around the country (until August 2001). |
| 2001 | The exhibition “The World of Taizi Harada” was held in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil from November (to March 2002). |
| 2002 | Visited Mexico, Costa Rica and Nicaragua in Central America to deliver talks and exhibitions to convey “The Heart of Japan. |
| 2005 | The exhibition “Harada Taizi and Fellow Painters from Croatia” was held around the country. |
| 2008 | The number of visitors to the Taizi Harada Art Museum surpassed one million. The postage stamp series “Hometown – Scenes in My Heart” was released throughout the country. |
| 2009 | Received the 14th NHK Kanto-Koshinetsu Region Broadcasting Culture Award. The exhibition “Taizi Harada – “Scenes from the Hometown in My Heart” was held at the Communications Museum (Teishin Sougou Hakubutsukan) in Tokyo. |
| 2010 | The exhibition “Depicting the Hometown of the Heart – The World of Taizi Harada” was held at the Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum and the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art. |
| 2011 | Received the 56th Hisoka Maejima Prize from the Tsushinbunka Association. |
| 2012 | The exhibition “The World of Taizi Harada” was held at the Ueda Sozokan. The exhibition “Depicting the Four Seasons of My Hometown – The World of Taizi Harada” was held the Saga Prefectural Museum. |
| 2013 | The exhibition “Departing for Home” was held at Big Palette Fukushima in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. |
| 2014 | The exhibition “Taizi Harada’s Hometown Calendar” was held at the Tamba Municipal Ueno Memorial Art Museum. |
| 2016 | The exhibition “Poetic Sentiments for Home” was held at the Santomyuze Ueda City Museum of Art. |
Taizi Harada is the author of numerous books including self-chosen art collection books, the picture book “To-chan no Tonneru (My Dad’s Tunnel)” and the picture and lyrics book “Kosumosu no Uta (Songs of the Cosmos).”
While engaging in design projects as a graphic designer, Harada continues his creative activities as a painter, working energetically around the country and the world.