|
|
The Kantei was home to several dozen paintings.
These included works of two Japanese painters: Taikan Yokoyama (1868-1958)'s "Hakkonikagayaku
(Light of the World)," which hung on a wall in front of the Grand Hall, and
Keigetsu Matsubayashi (1876-1963)'s ink painting "Fujiyama (Mt. Fuji),"
which hung in the Ministerial Reception Room.
Shuho Ikegami (1874-1944)'s "Washi (Eagle)" painting (210cm x
246cm) was enshrined at the head of the front staircase, leading up from the Main
Entrance Hall. The work was a conspicuous figure, even among the numerous masterpiece
paintings in the Kantei. The great eagle, wide-eyed and wings spread over
a windswept shore, greeted visitors to the Prime Minister's Office.
"La Boca", an oil painting by Argentine artist Quinquela Martin (1890-1977),
hung in the Chief Cabinet Secretary's Office. This work was a gift from the Argentine
Navy during a goodwill visit to Japan in 1940. Boca is a port town in the capital
of Buenos Aires, and it is said that then President of the Argentine Republic
Carlos Saul Menem was highly pleased when he saw the painting on his visit to
Japan in 1998. |
|
