Sakuro Miyake - Artist Profile
Sakuro Miyake (1904-2006)
Sakuro Miyake was born in 1904 in Akasaka Ward, Tokyo, and moved to what is now Yotsukaido when he was a child. In 1926, after graduating from the Western Painting Department of Kawabata Painting School in what was then Koishikawa Ward, Tokyo, he worked as an elementary school teacher in Chiba Prefecture.
In 1930, he participated in the formation of the Chiba Prefectural Jutsukai. Miyake exhibited his works in various forums, including at Teiten, Hakujitsukai Exhibition and Chiba Art Association Exhibition. Around 1970, when he turned 66, he began sketching trips around the country, including to Kiso and Oze in northern Japan.
After 1974, he was active mainly in solo exhibitions. He continued to commute from Yotsukaido City to Okuwa Village in Nagano Prefecture for many years, until he passed away in 2006 at the age of 102, leaving behind numerous works depicting landscapes and people. After his death, many of these were donated to the village history and folklore museum.
Okuwa Village, Kiso District: Located near Gifu in the Central Japan Alps of Nagano Prefecture. The scenery of Okuwa Village has been described as being like "the Switzerland of the East".