The Girl and the Castle
Tōgō Seiji
(Western style painter)
Seiji Togo (28 April 1897 - 25 April 1978) was a Japanese Western-style painter. His real name was Togo Tesshun. Her dreamy, sweet female images became popular and were used in numerous books, magazines and wrapping paper, and she dominated the post-war era as a Showa-era beauty painter. He was known as the 'Don of the Nika-kai' for his flamboyant performances and his efforts to promote the Nika Exhibition.
He is famous for his portraits of women, which are uniquely deformed and painted with soft curves and colours, but some consider them to be too commonplace. In his later years, he also worked on prints and sculptures. He also designed a number of miscellaneous goods and book bindings. His painting style was inherited by his pupil Kazuo Anshoku. One of his mistresses, the writer Uno Chiyo, modelled her 'Iro Zange' on Togo.
Size: h45 x w23.5 cm (painting size), h37.5 x w55 cm (frame size).
Media: paper
