北大路魯山人／Kitaoji Rosanjin

北大路魯山人は、明治から昭和初期にかけて活躍した稀代の芸術家です。書を始めとして、篆刻（てんこく）、絵画、作陶、漆芸、料理と、多彩な分野でその比類なき才能を発揮し、歯に衣着せぬ芸術論客としても名を馳せました。

魯山人は1883年、京都の上賀茂神社の社家に生まれてすぐに里子に出され、いくつかの養家を転々とした後、木版師の福田武造の養子となりました。12歳の頃、竹内栖鳳（1864〜1942）の【百騒一睡】に感銘を受けて日本画家になろうと決意しますが、画学校の入学は認められなかったため、家業を手伝いながら独学で技術を磨きました。15歳のときに応募した書の懸賞でその才が花開いてからは書家として身を立て、その後もやはり独学で創作の幅を広げていきました。また、若い頃から美食に対して並々ならぬ関心を寄せていた魯山人は、当時の風流人や資産家との交流を通して、食への造詣をさらに深めました。1921年には、骨董店を営みながら会員制食堂「美食倶楽部」を創業し、その4年後には「星岡茶寮（ほしがおかさりょう）」という料亭へと発展させ、厨房長として腕をふるいました。こうして美食を追求していく中、魯山人は料理の美しさを最大限に引き出す器を求め、自らそれを手がけるようになります。これが作陶を始める契機となり、志野や織部、備前、信楽などの技法を駆使し、創意と風格に富んだ良作を数多く制作しました。

20万点にものぼると言われる魯山人の一連の作品は「芸術も、いわばその日の出来ごころ」という信念と独自の美意識に基づき、自由奔放に生み出されました。それらは、花や茶、そして食を彩る道具でありながら、時として道具の域を超える輝きを放ち、人々の目を楽しませ続けています。

Rosanjin Kitaoji was a rare artist active from the Meiji era to the early Showa era. Across a diverse range of fields including calligraphy, seal carving, painting, ceramic, lacquerware, and cuisine, and he was also famous as an outspoken critic of the arts.

Born in 1883 into the family of Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto, Rosanjin was immediately placed as an adopted child and moved between several foster families. He eventually became the adopted son of woodblock engraver artist Takezo Fukuda. At the age of 12, he was impressed by Seihō Takeuchi’s (1864-1942) “One Hundred Disturbances of Sleep (painting of sparrows and dogs)” and decided to become a Japanese-style painter. However, he was not admitted to a painting school, so he taught himself to improve his skills while helping his family business. His talent blossomed at the age of 15 when he won a calligraphy contest. Since then, he taught himself calligraphy, expanding his artistic range and establishing himself as a calligrapher. He had an extraordinary interest in gastronomy from a young age, further deepened his knowledge of food through his interactions with the wealthy and the fashionable of the time. In 1921, while running an antique store, he started a members’ diner, “Gastronomy Club,” which four years later developed into a ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant) called “Hoshioka Saryo (Hoshioka Tea House)”, where he was the head kitchen chef. In his pursuit of gastronomy, Rosanjin sought dishes that would bring out the beauty of the food to the fullest and began to create them himself. This was the beginning of his ceramic career, and he produced a number of highly original and elegant works using techniques such as Shino, Oribe, Bizen, and Shigaraki.

Rosanjin’s series of works, said to number as many as 200,000 pieces, were created freely and unrestrainedly based on his belief that ” Art is, in a sense, a reflection of the mood of the moment” and his original aesthetic sense. While they are tools for decorating flowers, tea, and food, they sometimes go beyond the category of tools and continue to delight people’s eyes.