A Foujita Diary

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A Foujita Diary A friendly trip to Miyajima year 1934. partisipants; Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, Edvardo de Arteaga, and the model Madeleine Lequeux.

Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita

A Foujita Diary A friendly trip to Miyajima year 1934 partisipants; Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, Don Eduardo D. De Arteaga., and the model Madeleine Lequeux.

After massive success on his round trip to Latin America, Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita returned to Japan in November 1933 with his wife, Madeleine Lequeux. At age 27, he had moved to France and lived through the ”Roaring Twenties” as an eccen­tric and highly successful painter, well known for his nude women and lovely cat pain­ tings. In 1930, he married his fourth wife, the blue-eyed and red-haired dancer and singer Madeleine, with the artist name ”Panthère.”

She was a dancer at the Casino de Paris, one of the famous music halls of Paris. He was fasci­ nated by her stunning color and person­ality and made her famous by depic­ting her in drawings

and paintings. Together, they indulged in the social life in Tokyo, where Foujita had set u ­ p his studio in the garden of his sister. Madeleine continued her career as a singer in Tokyo, where she tried to establish herself as a singer of French chansons.

In this environ­ment, the couple reunited with their friend Don Eduardo D. de Arteaga. Eduardo met Foujita a couple of years Eduardo D. de Arteaga earlier, participating in the great parties and masquerades in Paris.

Eduardo was stationed in Tokyo as the ambassa­ dor ­of Uruguay from 1932 to 1935. Foujita, Eduardo, and some friends embarked on the ­Japanese tradition of climbing Mount Fuji in ­­ the summer of 1934 to catch the sunrise in ”perfect concentration.” It is Japan’s highest and most prominent mountain, for Shintoism, the incarnation of the Gaia spirit. Later that year, Foujita, Madeleine, and Eduardo made another cultural trip to Kobe, Kyoto, and the island Itsukushima (厳島), popularly known as Miyajima (宮島), located in the southwest of Hiroshima Bay.

On the island, there are many temples, but it is foremost known for its ”floating” torii gate, the Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社), including the Toyokuni Shrine (豊国神社), with a five-storied pagoda. In 1928, The Japan Air Transportation Company provided commercial flights.

Eduardo arrived in Osaka from Tokyo on an airplane and then Kobe, where he reunited with the couple at the Tor hotel.

Located in the northern end of Kobe, the hotel had a splendid view over the bay. The hotel’s Madeleine Lequeux style was Western, and it had Japanese and foreign residents. On the very same day, the friends visited the famous pagoda and temple Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺) in Kyoto and, after, Sumiya, an upper-­­class establishment in the courtesans’ district. They were entertained by a­ geisha while eating and drinking in the most beautiful example of the ”ageya” architecture in Japan, which is a National Treasure of Japan today. Late that night, the gang took the night train to Hiroshima in a ”wagon li.” After arriving at five o’clock in the night, they rode a transfer

Kawazashiki is restaurants or teahouses with setting tables and offer cuisine near the rivers or outdoors, so the visitor can have a good view. The picture shows the Sougyokuan that was washed away in the floods caused by Makurazaki typhoon, year 1945.

boat to the island Itsukushima, which took them there in 30 minutes. Exhausted, they fell asleep at six o’clock and slept to ten in the morning in Miyajima hotel a western-style hotel situated in Omoto Park. On the island, there are friendly Sika deer (日本鹿 ), and according to local folklore, the deer in Miyajima were consi­dered sacred messengers from the gods.

Eduardo filmed while Madeleine posed on the beach. As a model and singer, with star quality, she is very popular among photographers.

They stayed at iwaso, an excellent ryokan founded in 1854 and is located just behind the Shrine in Momijidani Valley. Shopping antiques and tailored yukata is a pleasure for Eduardo.

There are rules for wearing a kimono or yukata. The latter is a more casual garment.

Foujita, Madeleine, and Eduardo are a happy bunch of fellows.

A Foujita Diary

T.L. Foujita, Madeleine and E.D. de Arteaga in Japan 1934

TOR Hotel, Kobe

Not a moment too soon! 30 oct 1934

Courtesans’ district in Kyoto

Geisha entertainment

From Kyoto — On the way to Miyazima iland, in a train.

Arrive 5 o’clock in the morgning, 31 october 1934

At the hotel in Miyajima, westen style.

Sleeping time — 6-10 o’clock in the morning.

Eduardo filming Madeleine on the beach...

... whith friendly Sika deer.

Now it is Foujita filming...

... not only one bird!.

Sake cup and shopping...

... and Eduardo is happy!

Madelein photographed in Momijitani Park...

... Foujita and Eduardo is happy!

Simply brilliant...

... Eduardo have an idea!.

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