Kōtarō Takamura
March 13, 1883 – April 2, 1956 was a Japanese poet and sculptor.
Also recorded as Kotaro Takamura · Koutarou Takamura
Kōtarō Takamura

あの人の人生を知ろう〜高村光太郎 · Public domain
- Name
- Kōtarō Takamura
- Born
- 13 March 1883
- Birthplace
- Tokyo, Japan
- Died
- 2 April 1956
- Occupation
- Poet, writer, sculptor
- Nationality
- Japan · Empire of Japan
- Education
- Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts
- Teachers
- Gutzon Borglum
- Honours
- Japan Art Academy Prize
- Languages
- Japanese
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March 13, 1883 – April 2, 1956 was a Japanese poet and sculptor.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1646239 · wikipedia · Kōtarō Takamura
In this article
Biography
Biography
Kōtarō Takamura studied at Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts. Training under Gutzon Borglum is recorded. Shin Hongō is recorded as having studied under Kōtarō Takamura. The recorded working language is Japanese. Residence is recorded at Takamura Sansō. Work by Kōtarō Takamura is recorded in the collections of Art Institute of Chicago. Distinctions recorded are Japan Art Academy Prize.

This sculpture was destroyed in an air raid in April 1945.
Kōtarō Takamura / Ken Domon · 「高村光太郎 美に生きる」二玄社、1997年、p.72
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kōtarō Takamura • Native Name — 高村 光太郎 • Born — 13 March 1883 • Birthplace — Tokyo, Japan • Died — 2 April 1956 • Place of death — Tokyo, Japan • Occupation — Poet, writer, sculptor
Biography
Biography
Takamura was the eldest son of Japanese sculptor Takamura Kōun. He graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1902, where he studied sculpture and oil painting. He studied in New York, at the Art Students League of New York City in 1906. While in New York, Takamura studied under the well known sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Takamura's time spent in America was difficult, and had great impact on his sculpture work and literary work. Takamura additionally studied in London in 1907, where he met his best friend Bernard Leach. After finishing his studies in Paris in 1908, he returned to Japan in 1909 and lived there for the rest of his life. His sculptural work shows strong influence both from Western work (especially Auguste Rodin, whom he idolized) and from the Shirakabaha society. Takamura dedicated his artwork style to separating itself from the traditional Japanese style of art. Takamura and other artists were seen as leaders of a revolution in Japanese artwork. • Illustration — Chieko and Kōtarō He is also famous for his poems, and especially for his 1941 collection Chiekoshō (智恵子抄, literally "Selections of Chieko", English title "Chieko's sky" after one of the poems therein), a collection of poems about his wife Chieko Takamura née Naganuma, the oil painter, paper artist and early member of the Japanese feminist movement, who died in 1938. In 1951 Takamura received the 2nd Yomiuri Prize.
Identity
Identity
Kōtarō Takamura is recorded as having received Japan Art Academy Prize. The authorities additionally record the headings Kotaro Takamura and Koutarou Takamura.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1883
Kōtarō Takamura born at Shitaya-ku.
1956
Kōtarō Takamura died at Nakano.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Takamura Sansō
Residences
Shitaya-ku.
Birth place
Nakano.
Death place
Published works
• Chieko's sky, 1941 (English translation 1978) - (English) • The Chieko poems, bilingual edition, 2005 - • Poèmes à Chieko, bilingual edition (Japanese and French), Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, 2021,
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1646239: Kōtarō Takamura
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Kōtarō Takamura”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- 7 Takamura Kōun and Takamura Kōtarō: On Being a Sculptor, The Artist as Professional in Japan, 2004
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2004
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
7 Takamura Kōun and Takamura Kōtarō: On Being a Sculptor, The Artist as Professional in Japan, 2004Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1646239: Kōtarō TakamuraWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Kōtarō Takamura studied at Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts. He trained under Gutzon Borglum. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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