Painter Hirayama dies at 79

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TOKYO, Dec. 2 Kyodo -
Ikuo Hirayama, a traditional-style Japanese painter known for his works with
themes based on the Silk Road and Buddhism as well as for his efforts to
preserve and restore the cultural assets worldwide, died of a stroke Wednesday
at a Tokyo hospital, his friends and officials in art circles said. He was 79.
A Hiroshima Prefecture native and a graduate of the Tokyo School of Art,
currently the Tokyo University of the Arts, Hirayama developed a distinguished
painting style as he searched for materials linked to Buddhism and its spread
to Japan.
Hirayama, a victim of the August 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, had his work
''Ieji'' accepted for the Japan Art Academy Exhibition in 1953, and his 1959
work ''Bukkyo Denrai'' depicting the introduction of Buddhism to Japan proved
to be a turning-point in his career.
A series of Buddhist-themed paintings ensued and his 1966 visit to study a ruin
in Turkey prompted him to make frequent trips to the Silk Road, which inspired
his trademark paintings of landscapes and ancient remains.
Other countries he visited included Italy, France, Britain, the Netherlands,
Germany, Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Egypt, Greece, Cambodia and North Korea.
He was designated a UNESCO goodwill ambassador in 1989, campaigning for the
preservation and restoration of cultural assets around the world, such as
Horyuji Temple in Nara, the Magao Caves in Dunhuang, China, Bamiyan in
Afghanistan, and the Koguryo Mural Tombs in North Korea.
Hirayama was also known for proposing the ''Red Cross Spirit for Cultural
Heritage'' concept, in which he promoted cultural diplomacy by calling for
world peace.
Government officials and experts on cultural exchanges praised Hirayama for his
works and effort as a cultural ambassador.
''I strongly felt his affection for nature in each of his works, and he painted
wonderful pictures for many years,'' Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told
reporters. ''I imagine he gave the Japanese people a great sense of peace.''
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama said, ''He was active around the world
and made great contributions to help preserve world heritages and in his role
with UNESCO.''
Kosaku Maeda, head of the Japan Institute for Studies of the Cultures of
Afghanistan, said Hirayama had shown how Japan can provide international help
for the protection of cultural properties.
''He always said Japan should play a leading role in the effort to pass the
cultural heritage of the world on to future generations, and his cherished
desire should be fulfilled,'' Maeda said.
Hirayama received the Order of Cultural Merit from the Japanese government in
1998. With his paintings highly acclaimed overseas as well, he earned such
honors as L'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur from the French government in
1996.
He also earned the Ramon Magsaysay Award of the Philippines in 2001 ''for his
efforts to promote peace and international cooperation by fostering a common
bond of stewardship for the world's cultural treasures,'' according to the
Ramon Magsaysay Foundation that awarded him what has been dubbed Asia's version
of the Nobel Prize.
The foundation on Wednesday expressed deep sympathy for the family of the
Hirayama.
China and South Korea are among other countries that gave him awards.
In Beijing, Song Jian, president of the China-Japan Friendship Association,
sent a condolatory telegram to Hirayama's wife Michiko, saying, ''He made an
outstanding contribution to preserving Chinese culture. We not only lost an old
friend we respect, but it was also a significant loss to efforts to boost
China-Japan friendship.''
Hirayama had been chairman and then honorary chairman of the Japan-China
Friendship Association since 1992 and administrative director of Nihon
Bijutsuin, also known as the Japan Art Institute, since 1996. He also served
twice as president of Tokyo University of the Arts.
Outside his home in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, 77-year-old neighbor Hiroko
Motoyama said, ''He was a person in a high position, but he greeted us gently''
when he walked to the atelier near his home.
Shigeyoshi Wake, an 80-year-old former mayor of Setoda town, now Onomichi city,
in Hiroshima Prefecture where Hirayama grew up and an adviser to the Hirayama
Ikuo Museum of Art there, said that throughout the 34 years of their friendship
Hirayama had always been ''unpretentious and caring.''
==Kyodo
2009-12-02 23:12:42