Katori Masahiko (香取正彦)
Masahiko Katori (January 15, 1899 - November 19, 1988) was a Japanese caster. He was admitted as a holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) in 1977 in the field of bonsho (temple bell).
Biography
He was born as the eldest son of Hotsuma KATORI and mother, Tama in Koishikawa, Tokyo in 1899. He moved to the place of origin of his parents, current Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture, and spent his childhood in Sakura City.
He was admitted to the Department of Casting of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (present Tokyo University of Arts), and studied under the chief professor, Shinobu TSUDA. He based his manufacturing style upon classics. He graduated from the Department of Casting, Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1925. He submitted 'Ichigo Karakusamon kaki' (Flower vase with strawberries and scrolling arabesque design) to the Paris World Exposition (1925) ('Art Deco Expo') of the same year and won a bronze medal. He was specially chosen for the crafts genre of the Exhibition of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy for three consecutive years and became exempted from future examinations required to display art in the exhibition of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy.
He made a post-war effort to repair and protect cultural properties such as Buddhist statues and tools submitted to the military during the war. He started the production of temple bells from 1949 and contributed to Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, Shinsho-ji Temple of Narita Mountain, and the Hiroshima Peace Bell in 1967. He was awarded with the Award of the Japan Art Academy in 1953. Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition was exhibited from 1954, and he was assigned to be the judge from the third exhibition. He was designated as the holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) on April 25, 1977. He already made a hundred temple bells by 1981 and published "A hundred bells." He was chosen as a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1987.
His Main Works
"Chudo kaki" (A copper flower vase) (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1930)
"Seido kaibun hishi kaki" (Vase with squared sides with diamond motifs, bronze) (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1963)
"Kirin" (Chinese mysterious creature) (Sakura City Museum of Art)
"Shishi lion" (left-hand guardian dog at a Shinto shrine) (Sakura City Museum of Art)
"Shosoin gyobutsu egoro" (Incense Burner for Shosoin)
"Rogin botanmon kabin" (Rogin (three copper with one silver ratio) Vase with a peony flower design)
"Rogin 熏鑪"
"Rogin chomon kaki" (Rogin Flower Vase with Butterfly Shapes)
"Rogin choso kabin" (Rogin Flower Vase with a bird shape)
"Rogin gyokuso kabin" (Rogin Flower Vase with a Sphere Shape)
"Rogin yoji kabin" (Rogin Flower Vase with sheep ear shapes)