Lot 181: Yakushiji no mori (Forest at Yakushiji Temple)

Hirayama Ikuo (B. 1930)
Yakushiji no mori (Forest at Yakushiji Temple)
Signed and sealed Ikuo
Mineral pigment and gold on paper; framed and glazed
14½ x 20¼in. (36.8 x 51.5cm.)
With tomo seal signed, sealed and titled by the artist

Galerie Kaigado, Tokyo

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Hirayama graduated from the Tokyo Bijutsu Gako (Tokyo School of Fine Arts) in 1952 and then became a student of Maeda Seison (1885-1997). His interest in Buddhism has provided a rich source of subject matter and Japanese temples are one of his most well-known themes. Hirayama is one of several Japanese artists elected to the French Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and he has worked with UNESCO since the 1960s for the protection of cultural heritage sites in Afghanistan, Korea and Japan.