"CRAFT TOURISM ECHIZEN"　Takefu, the town where Chihiro Iwasaki's mother spent time

peace and happiness

If you walk about 10 minutes from JR Takefu Station, you will find the house where Chihiro Iwasaki, one of Japan's leading picture book artists, was born, in a place where the old-fashioned townscape remains even in the middle of the city.

Speaking of Chihiro Iwasaki, many people probably think of watercolor paintings of children in soft colors. Wishing "peace and happiness to all the children of the world", the works that he continued to draw continue to move the hearts of those who see them even beyond the ages.

Chihiro lived in Takefu (now Echizen City) for only a short period of time, from the time she was born until she was three months old. However, Takefu was a memorable place for Chihiro's mother, Fumie Iwasaki, who had a great influence on Chihiro's work and way of life.

indispensable existence

Chihiro Iwasaki was influenced by her mother

“Chihiro's mother was a wonderful person,” says Satomi Yoda, a curator in Echizen City. In 2018, I was involved in an exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of Chihiro Iwasaki's birth in Echizen City, and conducted a literature survey on Chihiro Iwasaki and her mother, Fumie, and interviewed people who were related to her.

▲Picture of Chihiro's mother Fumie on display

When talking about Chihiro, her mother, Fumie, is indispensable.

“Ever since Chihiro was a child, Fumie valued cultural and liberal education, such as taking Chihiro to the Imperial Hotel on Christmas and having her study music with an organ at home. Influenced by Ms. Fumie, who liked mountain climbing, she was good at sports, and at that time, while everyone was still wearing kimono, she often wore clothes ordered from overseas or handmade by Ms. Fumie. But he was famous."

Chihiro's works feature beautiful colors, modern designs, and children wearing clothes that look very comfortable. In addition, the active use of art materials developed in the West may have something to do with the fact that he was exposed to foreign cultures from an early age.

Chihiro has created works filled with affection and rich sensitivity. What kind of person is her mother, Fumie, who had a great influence on her?

Six years in Takefu

Fulfilling days spent as a teacher in Takefu

Fumie was born in 1890 (Meiji 23) in what is now Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, into an educationally enthusiastic family. Excellent from an early age, she aspired to become a teacher as a first-year student of Nara Women's University, and after graduating, she was assigned to Takefu's girls' school as a so-called new graduate.

At that time, women's education was gaining momentum in Japan after the Russo-Japanese War, and Takefu was able to open the ``Municipal Takefu Women's Business School'', a long-cherished desire. Fumie, who had excellent grades, received a recommendation from Nara Women's Higher Normal School and went to work alone.

Active and warm-hearted, Fumie is deeply trusted by the principal and students, and is entrusted with the first dormitory of the dormitory attached to the girls' school.

“Fumie spent six years in Takefu, but she seems to have enjoyed living in the dormitory very much. increase"

▲Photos of the dormitory where Fumie lived at the time are also on display.

irreplaceable place

As a wife, as a mother, as a teacher

Five years after he was assigned to Takefu, Fumie married Masakatsu Kurashina, a naval engineer who was also from Nagano, as his son-in-law. However, Fumie goes to Takefu to continue her teaching job. Four days after the wedding, they moved away from each other, and their newlywed life began with what is now called a separate marriage.

Their marriage was decided by their parents, and they had never met before the ceremony. However, while living apart, the couple exchanged letters frequently, and their bond gradually deepened.

“When you first get married, the letters are aloof to each other, but as the marriage gets longer, the text of the letters becomes more like a love letter. It’s wonderful to have a relationship where love begins after marriage. Yoda-san also smiles.

Eventually, Fumie, who became pregnant, quit her job as headmaster and moved to Tenno-cho, where Chihiro's birthplace is now located, and safely gave birth to Chihiro. Surprisingly, she returned to work one to two months after giving birth, and spent her days breastfeeding while going back and forth between school and home.

▲Mother Fumie holding Chihiro, February 1919

About three months after Chihiro was born, her husband Masakatsu, who had been on an expedition to Siberia, returned to Japan, so Fumie left Takefu and went to Tokyo. After leaving Takefu, he continued to teach for more than 20 years, but he continued to interact with Takefu's students until his later years, such as participating in the alumni association with Chihiro. Takefu, which was Fumie's first assignment, must have been an irreplaceable place.

Chihiro's birth house

Reproduce the life that Chihiro and Fumie spent at the time

After that, Chihiro Iwasaki, who left many works as a picture book artist, died of primary liver cancer at the age of 55. Fumie died three years later in 1977 at the age of 86.

"Chihiro's Birth House" is now open to the public as a memorial hall, and introduces what it was like when Fumie and Chihiro lived together.

In the museum, the taste of the Taisho period when Chihiro's mother, Fumie lived, is restored, and the atelier that was set up in Chihiro's Tokyo home is also reproduced. The gallery holds seasonal exhibitions of Chihiro's works, and there are many Chihiro Iwasaki fans who come from outside the prefecture.

▲A Japanese-style room inspired by the room where her mother, Fumie, who was assigned to Takefu, spent time.

"Chihiro's Birthplace," a place where you can feel the atmosphere of those days and where time flows quietly. How about thinking about the time Fumie and Chihiro spent while surrounded by works that are full of Chihiro's view of the world?

▲Chihiro Iwasaki April 1973

▼"Chihiro's Birthplace" Memorial Museum

https://chihironoie.jp/