Kiichi Okamoto

Okamoto was born in Sumoto on Awaji Island in 1888. He and his family moved to Tokyo in 1892 for his father's promotion to the vice-president of Miyako Shimbun.[1] When in elementary school, Okamoto encountered hand fans with beautiful paintings which fascinated him and motivated him to study painting.[2]

In 1906, he was apprenticed to Seiki Kuroda to study yōga at the age of 18.[1] Among his fellow pupils was Ryūsei Kishida, with whom Okamoto formed an artists' group and named it Fusain Society (Fyūzankai) to promote post-impressionism.[3] Enthralled by Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne, they held an exhibition challenging the conservative Bunten in 1912.[1][3][4] It angered Kuroda and brought an end to their mentoring relationship, leading to the split of Fusain Society.[1][5] Nevertheless, Okamoto and Kishida organized a new group together with Shōhachi Kimura and Kōtarō Takamura to give an exhibition of their own paintings in October 1913.[6]

Okamoto was also active in the sōsaku hanga movement. The influence of William Nicholson can be seen in his hanga Portrait of N.O.[7] He was also influenced by Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham.[1]

Kodomo no Kuni (November 1925)

In 1914, upon his marriage, Okamoto moved next door to Kusuyama Masao, a popular theater critic and translator of Western literature.[8][9] Kusuyama helped Okamoto expand his activities to include stage design, and also asked Okamoto to draw illustrations for a series of juvenile novels Mohan Katei Bunko, of which he was the editor-in-chief, in 1915.[1][10]

Okamoto began drawing for Kin no Fune, a magazine of children's literature and songs, in 1919.[1] Knowing Ujō Noguchi through his jobs, Okamoto drew illustrations for Noguchi's works.[10]

In 1922, Okamoto was named chief illustrator for Kodomo no Kuni from its second issue.[1] Kodomo no Kuni was sold at a half yen per copy, relatively expensive compared to rival magazines, but was enough competitive due to its high quality of the pictures.[11] Among the ardent readers were Chihiro Iwasaki and Seiichi Horiuchi, who would become leading illustrators for children in the mid-Shōwa period. Horiuchi admired Okamoto's ability to capture facial expressions.[12]

Kodomo no Kuni was completely different from any other book I had ever read. A picture of beautiful evening primroses looked as if they were whiffling with scent in the dusk... I fell in love with Okamoto's pictures...

— Chihiro Iwasaki, 1968[13][14]

Founders of the Japan Association of Illustrators for Children

Starting to work for Shōjo Club in 1923 and for Kodomo Asahi in 1924,[1] Okamoto became the most popular illustrator for children in Japan in the 1920s.[9] In 1927, he participated in forming the Japan Association of Illustrators for Children with Takeo Takei, Tomoyoshi Murayama and other painters.[1][10]

He had been busy with his work until just a few days before he died of typhoid fever at the age of 42 in Tokyo.[10]

Okamoto married Kishiko in 1914 and had two sons. His elder son, Hajime, became a professional yacht photographer.[15]

• 
  Straw Millionaire (1916) in Kunio Yanagita's book of folktales.
• 
  Rabbits' Dance (1924) with Ujō Noguchi's lyrics.
• 
  Building a Radio (1928). Okamoto introduced then-newest technology in some of his pictures.[10]
• 
  Basketball (1928). He learned silhouette cuts from Arthur Rackham's works.[10]
• 
  Best Friends (1931), one of his posthumous works.

Media related to Okamoto Kiichi at Wikimedia Commons

• Works by or about Kiichi Okamoto in libraries (WorldCat catalog)